Extra Virgin

On Friday night, Chris and I headed to Extra Virgin for a nice meal outdoors. The weather in New York has been going all over the place – last week, it was incredibly hot (90’s, humid, and really gross on the subways) and then all of a sudden, it cooled off and now it’s a little chilly. In July! Extra Virgin is close to Chris’ place and we saw Gisele Bundchen with Tom Brady there one morning for brunch, so we figured if it’s good enough for Gisele and Tom, it’s good enough for Chris and Grace. 🙂 Extra Virgin has outdoor seating right on West 4th Street, which is nice because you can people watch (especially on a Friday night). We waited about 45 minutes for a table (not bad for a Friday night without a reservation).

I was in the mood for pasta and ended up ordering the Fettuccine with Fricassee of Wild Mushrooms duck confit, butternut squash, pecorino, asparagus:

The pasta was cooked really well, but the sauce was way too heavy. Also, there were bones in the duck, which should have been taken out if the duck was going to be prepared within a dish. I don’t mind bones, especially with duck, but they’re not expected when you’re eating a dish with bits of duck, you know?

Chris had more luck with his Hanger Steak Au Poivre balsamic glazed onions, fries, béarnaise sauce:

The sauce was creamy and buttery, which seems like an odd topping for steak, but it was really tasty. The steak was really delicious on its own; a nice crust on the outside, juicy, flavorful, and tender on the inside. Extra Virgin’s dinner menu is pretty limited – there were only 6 or 7 entrees available, which was a little disappointing. Overall, Extra Virgin wasn’t great, but the atmosphere is nice and I think if I went again, I would check out their brunch options (it seems like people really enjoy their french toast).