A night with friends at L'Impero

I went to L'Impero last week with a group of friends from my Pfizer days. It was really great to see "old friends" and talk about "old times". It was clear that. while I miss the people, I don't miss the work - or what it has become. I was lucky to have been there during some of the most exciting times - the building of an organization and a business. The last several years have been focused on "rightsizing" the organization after two large acquisitions and a dearth of significant new products. It has also been a period of stockmarket stagnation (Pfizer stock is less than half its high of 6 years ago). It's critical to be lucky as well as good!

We went to a very well regarded restaurant within walking distance from both the office and my apartment. L'Impero is lovely with a great bar and terrace. The menu is interesting featuring a number of unique items. Unfortunately, I wasn't in a very experimental mood and I stayed pretty traditional:

Crispy Sweetbread Fricassee - summer vegetables and truffled spinach puree
Slow Roasted Veal Chop - snap pea-shallot stufato and preserved lemons

Followed by
Torta di Ricotta - citrus salad and pistachio lime gelato

My tradtional Double Espresso.

We had a very nice Italian red wine that I cannot remember.

Everything was really well prepared especially the Sweetbreads. How m uch can you do with a Veal chop?

My only criticism is the restaurant is so focused on being trendy it lost sight of the dining experience - it was crowded and noisy.

L'Impero
45 Tudor City Pl.(bet. 42nd & 43rd Sts.)
Manhattan, NY 10017
212-599-5045

Zagats says...
“Artful” chef Scott Conant’s “glorious riffs” on Italian fare are the “stuff of dreams” at this “elegant” Tudor City outpost, a “high-end”, “grown-up” respite where the “sleek”, “modern” setting is matched by “polished”, “simpatico” service; it’s imperially “expensive”, but the $64 prix fixe is such an “incredible deal” that most “can’t wait to go back.”