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Photo: Steven Sunshine/NY Daily News
During my first year in New York, my best friend from high school mailed me a bright orange sweater for my birthday. She wanted me to stay warm and bring some Californian attitude to dreary New Yorkers. The truth was, I already fit in with my charcoal-hued clothes. I hardly wear bright colors, because I’m afraid of looking disastrous. For example, one St. Patrick’s Day I wore a fluorescent green parka, which I’ve never worn since. People literally said, “Ouch, you’re blinding me! Turn your windbreaker inside out!”
That’s why I was mortified when the picture above appeared in the New York Daily News‘ review of Caffe Falai. Last Saturday, I had just finished working out (playing on a trapeze and hula hooping!) and needed to refuel. Too lazy to change into street clothes, I stumbled into a pristine white restaurant wearing a ratty orange T-shirt. The scene was something straight out of Sex and the City: posh food and people who looked like they just stepped off a runway. To add to the glamour, there was a photographer snapping pictures. I was afraid that I would be refused service, but I figured I had a right to experience chef Iacopo Falai’s food.
Falai, the ex-pastry chef from Le Cirque (where Jacques Torres also worked), now has three restaurants in the city. Each serves carefully crafted Italian food, but the desserts are French. Each location includes my three favorite foods: bread, olive oil and chocolate.
Caffe Falai didn’t disappoint. I had the stewed figs with fresh DiPaolo ricotta and almonds. The figs were bursting with a caramelized wine sauce, and the ricotta was like unsweetened ,room-temperature ice cream. The almonds weren’t just a garnish; they were made into almond brittle to contrast the soft cheese. It exceeded all my expectations. My only complaint was that the sauce was so sweet that you needed a lot of cheese to tone it down.
Also on the menu were fresh salads (about $6), brûléed eggs (about $10) and panini ($7). Each table came with freshly grilled housemade bread and olive oil.
All of Falai’s restaurants are comparable in quality, but Caffe Falai is the easiest to get to. The original Falai is the fanciest but also the most expensive and has the smallest portions. Falai Panetteria has the heartiest food: fresh whole wheat lasagna with Bolognese sauce and polenta with wild boar ragù.
I can’t believe the Daily News ran that picture. Maybe it’s because I let the photographer hang around; I sympathized with his plight. Or maybe it’s because the orange t-shirt made me stand out, just like my best friend would have wanted.
Caffe Falai
265 Lafayette Street (between Prince and Spring), Soho; (917) 338-6207
Falai Panetteria
79 Clinton Street (Rivington Street), Lower East Side; (212) 777-8956
Falai
68 Clinton Street, Lower East Side; (212) 253-1960
More info:
Daily News review of Caffe Falai [2]
The First Bite is the Sweetest (Caffe Falai video from Gridskipper) [3]
One Dessert, Many Flavors, Even Sweet (NY Times article with recipe) [4]
Star Chefs profile of Iacopo Falai [5]