Welcome to my newest feature, SnackTime With Jen. This midweek morsel is a small taste of something fun. Topics range from food (of course) to fashion, amusing little discoveries both locally and abroad, and a variety of interesting intel too tempting not to share. So let’s get snacking…
Tucked underneath one of the most distinctive starchitecture buildings along The Highline in NYC you’ll find an exceptionally polished Italian restaurant called Cucina Alba dressed to impress with sorbet swirls and a warm woody interior.
After one small peek at the menu I promise you’ll want to try everything. The portions are moderate so feel free to go a little crazy. For starters the homemade Pane e Formaggio is a divine loaf of mini focaccia, although honestly we didn’t love the overwhipped ricotta sidecar. However, the Zucchini Flowers were crispy perfection with a warm center and the lemony potato mousse dipper dappled with chives dazzled us. The Calabrian Tuna Tartare, anointed with a light chili oil and a pinch of flake salt sat on a bed of tender cubed golden beets. Yum!
For our mains, we shared the Lasagne Verdi with eggplant, zucchini, and besciamella and the Tagliarini with fresh green basil pesto. The Lasagne was beyond delicious with a layer of unexpected crunch to offset the soft veggie madness, and just the right amount of saucy goodness. We fought over the last bite! The twirly Tagliarini was perfectly al dente and we added a little Parm to the fragrantly herby flavor. Alba makes it easy to feel good about going green.
It was a foregone conclusion that our finale would involve sharing the flourless fudgy Chocolate Cake with a dollop of raspberry compote kissing a cool scoop of whipped cream. The dessert was petite but deliriously dense and decadent with just a whisper of powdered sugar.
Cucina Alba checks all the boxes for a fabulously fun and memorable meal. Jen’s Little Black Book welcomes this Italian stallion of superior culinary quality to must-try Book-worthy status. Alba seeing you there soon.
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