After working late, I dropped by flour + water on my way home to see if there was a seat at the bar, sat down within 15 minutes, and had one of the better meals I’ve had there:
roasted duck breast with chestnut, roasted squash, walnut & pumpkin seed
I do like the time of year when chestnuts make an appearance in food. And this dish was phenomenal– juicy, tender duck with a slightly sweet chestnut puree and a lot of mellow, well-blended supporting flavors.
black pepper tagliarini with tesa, broccoli di ciccio & soft cooked egg
This was one of my favorite pasta experiences here, up with the carrot caramelle and radiatore with whey-braised hen.
The pasta was just so tender and perfectly cooked, the egg was exceptional (and mixing it in distributed rich, dark yellow, runny yolk over each strand of pasta), and the tesa (cured pork belly) was intense, like a concentrated less-salty bacon, but used in moderation and didn’t overpower the pasta.
Quite a dinner.
And while I rarely have anything to say about wine, the De Forville Barbaresco, Vigna Loreto 2008, Piemonte was also one of my favorites in quite a while– a taste almost like swimming in a gravel-lined, fresh mountain stream– in a good way (I think the oenophile-approved adjective is “mineraly”).