Lupa

I've been having one of the most amazing weeks here in the city. A number of unforgettable meals (Le Bernardin, wd-50) comes to mind. The only thing I regret is having no appetite in the beginning (I think it was due to some unfresh tiramisu last week). Anyway, after various pills, I regained my gluttonous eating powers in the middle of the week. Still 4 days wasted.

Also, I think I must look like a certain food critic because I've been getting preferential treatment at a few places that "recognized" me. Not that I'm complaining.

My first lunch was at Lupa, a Roman trattoria in Soho and one of the city's most popular Italian restaurants. The line is pretty horrendous, so go on a weekday.

Focaccia was great. I soaked up quite a bit of that extra virgin olive oil.

Oxtail "Crochetta Alla Vaccinara"- oxtail braised in white wine, tomato, celery, pine nuts and raisins.

This is one of Lupa's signature dishes, but I didn't think too much about it. I like oxtail a lot, and I'm glad this was tender and beefy, with a great dissolving quality. The only thing was the accompaniments were in competition and too overpowering. This was a very salty appetizer overall--the sauce was salty in itself, the celery was marinated and sour, and the sundried tomatoes were again very savory. The pine nuts added a great smoky flavor but the raisins were ineffective since the sauce was super salty. The lemon zest as garnish just didn't really work with all the other flavors. This oxtail just felt very heavy.

Lupa did redeem itself with the pasta dish. I got the Linguine with mussels, which was cooked very simply in olive oil, garlic, and jalapenos. The pasta was al dente just like I like it. The mussels were fresh and juicy. The sauce was spicy and refreshing, yet subtle enough to allow me to taste the mussels and linguine.

Overall, NY really beats SF when it comes to Italian. Another thing that I will definitely miss is the plethora of patisseries. In SF there is only one Tartine; here, every corner has a bakery just as good.