Felidia is a wonderful northern Italian restaurant in a townhouse on East 58th Street. The chef, Lidia Bastianich, is the well known star of 'Lidia's Family Table' on PBS. The menu is quite interesting, featuring specialties of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia.
The service was excellent. The captain was very knowledgeable and made all the dishes sound wonderful. We were three people, and debated back and forth about our choices. Our final decision to forego the soft-shell crab appetizer resulted in a surprise treat by the chef of a shared order on a bed of two colour pasta--it was wonderful!
Chris and I don't usually order the same food (so we can try different things) but this time we both started with fried zucchini flowers stuffed with goat cheese and served with a tangy tomato dipping sauce. They were exceptional. Our neighbour, Jane enjoyed a seafood appetizer with a particularly delicious calimari. For our entrees, Christina selected one of her all time favourite menu items--calves liver. It was the best we have ever seen, or eaten. The perfectly pink morsels were layered atop a leek and polenta pancake which looked so appetizing it made even my mouth water. Jane and I both selected the quail "Saltimbocca" and were not disappointed. It included the breast meat rolled in ham and the wings and legs separately. Not having room for any dessert, we opted to finish with espresso and of course had a nibble or two of the delicious confections served on the side.
It was pretty clear that we were true members of "the clean plate club" which delighted the staff especially given that on Sundays the sous-chef, Peter is in charge. We couldn't imagine a better meal.
The one significant shortcoming was the sommelier. Felidia has an exceptional list of Italian wines, many of which are new to me. In the past, the wine captain had always had interesting wines to recommend that were much more reasonable than the Brunellos that were familiar to me. This time, despite much prodding of the "18 year old" captain we got the feeling that we were asking the impossible. In fact, the wine we ultimately had was quite ordinary. How lucky is that this is within walking distance of where we live.
Felidia
East 50s 243 E. 58th St.(bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves.)
Manhattan, NY 10022
212-758-1479
Zagats says
Creativity abounds at chef Lidia Bastianich's beautiful East Side townhouse, where wonderful pastas and other authentic Italian dishes are matched by a fantastic wine list; the prices can be intimidating, but its inviting decor and top-notch service have customers cheering brava Lidia!
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