My Dinner at Esca

March 17, 2016

You know how great it feels when you meet an old flame after a long time and find that you’re still in love?  That’s how I felt the other night at Esca.

When I worked at Gourmet I ate there all the time. Every Conde Nast editor did; the restaurant was just down the street, and if you wanted to take a writer out for lunch and not waste time traveling, that’s where you went.

Mostly, however, I went because I loved the food.

A long time has passed since then; it’s been a couple of years since I walked through those doors. But it felt a lot like coming home. There was Dave Pasternak – terrific chef and passionate fisherman – talking all things ocean.  There was the cosy, unpretentious room.  And the great wine list.

I began with shad roe – gorgeously cooked, still soft and rosy inside – surrounded with pickled vegetables. Hello spring!

A little bit of crudo.  I’m fairly sure Dave invented it; when the restaurant opened, he said that it was a classic dish, but whoever heard of Italians eating raw fish?

Grilled octopus. Tender, slight charred, lemon drenched, on a bed of beautiful beans.

Spaghetti neri.  They laughed when I ordered it – they knew I would.  I can’t get enough of this funky, faintly spicy tangle of squid ink pasta, chiles and seafood.  It was as satisfying as ever.Lovely vegetables – I especially liked that asparagus!

You will find this hard to believe, but a friend and I met for dinner at 7:30, and we ate and talked so happily we were stunned to look up and discover the tables around us growing empty; it was after midnight.

But that’s what happens when you find yourself at home again.

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