Restaurant Week Grand Finale - Pt. 2

See the magnificent garden above? Lovely isn't it? Yes, it's I Trulli's - and no, I wasn't lucky enough to dine in it.

Yet, I can still say that my dinner was delightful. Quite a compliment considering my initial pout over not being able to dine al fresco. Wouldn't you agree?

Well, if you too had been privy to helpful, attentive service that didn't bat an eyelash when Cindy and I mentioned that our glasses of Salice tasted very tinny and immediately returned with new ones filled with Chianti and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo respectively, you'd feel the same.

Oh, and there was food too. Cindy moaned over her appetizer of delicate, sweet, pan-seared scallops served atop a chilled salad of black chickpeas, sliced red onions. I was equally enchanted by my luscious appetizer portion of Cavatelli, Apulian flour dumplings served with perfectly cooked, bitter broccoli rabe and a sprinkling of roasted almonds. A shower of shaved parmesan finished it off beautifully - and to be extra decadent, I swirled in a bit of marscapone that was actually meant to accompany the bread.

Entrees were just as pleasing. The Ceci e Tria that Cindy ordered as a main dish, was lusty and bright, even though it was weighed down slightly by it's high-carb combo of broad pasta tossed with fried pasta, fresh tomato and chickpeas. Considering that I had rabbit - an entree that I usually associate with chilly fall or winter nights - I actually felt like I had the lighter of the two dishes. The Coniglio was moist and flavorful, accompanied by rosemary, black chickpeas and a small helping of mashed potatoes.

We had several sweet options to complete our meal and decided to split two - a dish of homemade Pistachio Gelato and a plate of Nonni's Biscotti. A perfect pairing to say the least. Add to that my glass of deep cherry red, bubbly Brachetto d'Acqui to offset the chocolate cookies on the table, and we were in heaven.

Glancing down at my watch I realized that Cindy and I had escaped into a little corner of Italian paradise for a full three-hours. Considering that we had stuck to the inexpensive $30.12 menu and only ordered a few glasses of wine, as opposed to a full bottle, I was sure that the waiter would appear any minute to hand us the check and signal that "our time was up."

But, no. It seems that the management at I Trulli truly take the Italian "Slow Food" sensibility to heart. And, I'm tempted to send a Valentine to 122 East 27th Street: Mi amore!