The phrase "yellow death machine" was coined by my husband after one too many death defying white knuckle rides in a NYC taxi.I hopped into a yellow death machine after work a few weeks ago and the driver took me on a totally circuitous route. Annoyance turned into appreciation when we passed by an adorable restaurant not too far from our house, but on a street I wouldn't normally use. We gave that restaurant a try tonight.
Amarena was charming indeed and we were warmly greeted when we arrived and experienced very friendly service throughout our meal. The atmosphere had a cozy, neighborhood feel that I liked as well. The food, however, was good - but not great. I think that if we lived closer, we would work Amarena into our rotation. But because we have a stellar Italian restaurant within walking distance from our place, we don't see much of a reason to board a bus or catch a cab to get to Amarena again.
Okay - so what did I eat? First, my husband and I shared a beet and spinach salad with ricotta dressing. The beets were delicious, but the dressing lacked seasoning or any real flavor. Next, I had the eggplant parmesan "small plate". I was thrilled when it arrived and the eggplant wasn't fried. However, a somewhat disturbing amount of olive oil oozed out of it as I cut into it. The dish tasted good and I know that olive oil is a "healthy fat", but I just didn't really enjoy it as much as I normally do eggplant parm. My entree was salmon with olives, capers, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and potatoes. This was very yum and I would happily order it again if I find myself at Amarena again in the future.
We hadn't tried a new restaurant in awhile and very rarely venture out of our immediate neighborhood for dinner so tonight was a nice change of pace. What will be my next yellow death machine discovery?
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