Happy Birthday to Me!!!

RRR came in for the weekend to celebrate my birthday. After a drink-fest Friday night at the Irish Rogue, we decided to work off our hangover with a stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge and lunch in Brooklyn Heights.

Strolling down Montague Street, we eventually decided on lunch at Taze, a Mediterranean Turkish restaurant.

We asked to be seated on Taze's quaint back patio and started off with an order of babaganus and pastrami-humus. The smoky eggplant in the babaganus was delicious and quite different than other versions I have tasted.

We were intrigued by the "pastrami-humus" and basically it was a few slices of lean pastrami over humus with a drizzle of olive oil. The pastrami was also nice and smoky, more reminiscent of bacon than true blue pastrami but quite interesting in texture and taste. We were given hunks of foccacia-type bread versus pita which I think helped us not to overindulge before our main course arrived.

We shared the mixed grill which included shaved lamb (or at least that's what we THINK we were eating), chicken, Turkish meatballs, doner kebab, rice, green salad and a grilled pepper. The yogurt and red sauce that came with the dish were a bit tasteless and unnecessary with the flavorful seasoned meats. The thick cubes of chicken were not only perfectly charred and seasoned; but juicy without being undercooked - how'd they do that? We debated for awhile cooking large cubes of chicken so well without drying out the meat. The shaved meat (for lack of a better description) also stood out and had a nice spicy kick to it with the white rice and salad adding a mellow compliment to help balance out the onslaught of spice from the dish. What a great neighborhood find!

After a bit of a stroll on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, we stopped at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory where we bought dishes of coffee and chocolate chocolate chunk ice cream. The ice cream here is rich and creamy and you can really taste the coffee and the dense chocolate flavor is certainly worth the calories! Nothing unnatural in here - take that Tasti di Lite!

A quick nap in the late afternoon and we were off to the evening's main event, dinner at Assenzio in the East Village. This is a repeat visit for RRR and me, but an inaugural visit for MPV and Bomber.

MPV was going to be arriving late so unfortunately she missed out on the delicious appetizers and first course. We began our adventure with the Torretta di Porto con ortaggi all griglia: a portobello mushroom tower with eggplant, zucchini, mozzerella and a warm tomato sauce. The meaty mushroom was a bit dry but the flavors of the eggplant, zucchini and creamy gooey mozzerella made up for what the mushroom lacked.

We also split the insalatina tricolore con gorgonzola e pignoli: arugula, radicchio, endive, gorgonzola and pine nuts. The finely chopped endive and pine nuts added a nice freshness to the dish. A good palate cleanser for our pasta course.

Our first bottle of wine for the evening was a fruity 2005 La Gaggina Dolcetto D'Ovada. Jammy and light it was a perfect way to start off a meal!

For our primi, we split the tagliolini neri con calamari e pomodorini: squid ink tagliolini tossed with calamari in a lightly spiced cherry tomato sauce. One of our servers was a bit overzealous with the freshly ground pepper but despite that slight misstep the pasta was quite lovely. The squid ink pasta was fresh and al dente and the calamari had just the right texture.

By this point, MPV had yet to arrive and while the servers were a bit nervous gazing around the bustling room of diners waiting to be seated, but at no point did we feel rushed to finish our meal. We ordered our second bottle, this time a 2005 Calco Nero D'Avola and prayed that MPV would find a parking spot soon.

After she arrived, we received our main courses. Corta di Manzo al connonau di Dorgal for me & Bomber which was a braised short rib in a cannonau sauce with a hint of dark chocolate. This dish was an Italian take on a mole sauce and succeeded on many fronts. The stringy meat was well-seasoned and the deep richness of the thick sauce had a great depth of flavor. The accompanying buttery carrots and broccoli were quite tasty and not the usual afterthought that side dishes can be. And the mashed potatoes with a sprig of rosemary for good measure? Pretty hard to go wrong there.

MPV had the red snapper with clams and mussels in a white wine sauce and RRR enjoyed the involtini di vitello con pecorino di gallura e vermentino: fresh veal rolls filled with pecorino cheese and basil in a vermentino wine sauce.

We managed to find room for dessert and split the tiramisu along with the caramelized banana with caramel. The tiramisu was pretty good but the banana was the one that got my attention. The banana was surprisingly batter dipped and lightly fried with a zeppole-type coating. The creaminess of the vanilla gelato was a nice balance to the overall sweetness of the dish.

After our food fest, RRR & I made a pit stop at Winebar on Second Ave and 4th Street for a final glass of wine. I chose a Rose from Provence and RRR had a wonderful sparkling Muscato. As we watched the wonderful pizzas and cheese plates emerge from behind the bar, we were both wishing we had more room to continue the dining extravaganza.

Seriously, could a foodie ask for a better way to spend her birthday?!?!?