Centro Vinoteca

Centro Vinoteca has been on my list of places to dine ever since Leah Cohen made her Top Chef debut a few seasons ago. You might remember her as Hosea's forbidden-love-cuddle-buddy, but I digress.

CV is kind of in (what I believe to be) a very weird location downtown. I normally get lost down there because it's where the numbered and lettered streets intersect and become one big hodgepodge of confusion. A good way to remember its location is to recognize that it's not too far from Milk & Cookies (noms).

I chose the insalata caprese - house-made mozzarella, basil pesto, sea salt & local tomatoes to start. One can argue that an insalata caprese isn't all that original and something you can nosh on at pretty much every Italian restaurant you go to. And I completely agree. Which is why I chose to have it. Part of what I love about food is comparing it to other similiar dishes I've had at other places. This insalata caprese was really nothing special, but still a nice way to start a meal. I loved the yellow tomato they added because I happen to think yellow tomatoes are completely underrated. But the mozzarella itself was nothing that jumped out at me. I'd give it a 5 out of 10.

Second course I went with the sweet pea cappelacci with lemon pressed olive oil, mint & parmesan. I had never heard of capplacci until that night, but it's pretty much a ravioli-type pasta. One thing to know about me is that I absolutely love red sauce. If I ever get a non-red pasta dish it's usually a carbonara, but most of the time I'm not a fan of any pasta dish that has an olive oil base. This dish was an INCREDIBLE surprise. No one told me that roasted corn was a part of it. Corn is probably my favorite vegetable next to cauliflower (don't judge me). The pasta itself was cooked perfectly and the sprinkled parmesan added just enough flavor without overpowering it. I'd give it 8 out of 10.

Dessert. One of my biggest pet peeves is going out to eat with people and then hearing "Oh, I don't really want dessert" or "Eh, I'm kind of full." Seriously. Unacceptable. In fact, I love dessert so much that I refuse to go to a restaurant that doesn't have a good dessert menu. What's the point? So, naturally, this is one of the best parts about restaurant week because even if you go with someone who doesn't like dessert they're forced to order something because it comes with the meal. And then they don't eat it and I get it all to myself. Totally a win win situation. This particular night I was with two other people and there were three options on the dessert menu so we got all three: strawberry shortcake, mascarpone cream & lemon curd, lancaster farm organic cream panna cotta, with vanilla bean ice cream & fresh berries, and a chocolate bread pudding with ice cream and drizzle. The strawberry shortcake was by far the best, but the only thing I wasn't a fan of was the lemon curd. I've had better panna cotta but it was still nice and creamy and the chocolate bread pudding was equally satisfying. All in all dessert was a 9 out of 10.

That leaves us with 22 out of 30. I would go back and give some other dishes a try, for sure. The downstairs is a lot more inviting and fun than the upstairs. Looks like a fun spot for a drink or first date as well.

Centro Vinoteca
74 Seventh Avenue South