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San Babila Elevates Dining with Its Truffle Tiramisu and Signature Digestif Cart Experience

by Tessa M. Dobrow
written by Tessa M. Dobrow

Nestled on the Upper East Side, San Babila opened its door to The Knockturnal once again, this time to experience their after dinner Digestif Cart and enjoy a sneak peek of their Truffle Tiramisu.

The restaurant’s welcoming ambiance invited us into the bustling Italian cuisine establishment. We enjoyed the soft lights of the dining area, sipping on a bottle of Moscato. After the meal, the staff serves the Digestif Cart, filled with a variety of spirits. So naturally, we tried some additional options from the menu to properly enjoy the post dinner service.

Apps & Entrees

We started off the night with a deconstructed Caesar Salad and Tartare Di Tonno. The salad consists of five wedges of crisp baby lettuce garnished with pickled red onion, parmigiano, and anchovy bread crumbs. In addition, both balsamic and Caesar dressing complemented the salad. The tartare contained thick tuna chunks flavored with Sicilian olives, fresh mint, oranges, and basil, giving the dish a slightly sweet aftertaste.

Next up were noodles and gnocchi. The Fettuccine Alla Nerano consists of delicately soft noodles, stracciatella foam, and a zucchini purée, topped with zucchini chips. The Gnocchi Al Tartufo included rich, cheese-filled pasta balls, tender mushrooms, and sautéed spinach that perfectly balanced out the richness of the pasta sauce. Nutty pine nuts garnished the dish, complementing the wonderful flavor of the black truffle.

Post Dinner Digestif

Our server brought us the Digestif Cart only after we had thoroughly enjoyed dinner. The elegant trolley style cart is adorned with spirit glasses, a variety of garnishes, and of course a selection of liquors. The perfectly lined-up liquors were all handpicked by Executive Chef Francesco Lamanna. They each come from his homeland of Calabria, giving a nod to his heritage. They include more bitter spirits such as the Roger Amaro and Amaro Importante Jefferson. The more floral options included the balsamic herbal liquor Madame Milù, the Bergamotto Fantastico, and the Mr. Three & Bros. Each spirit is aimed at helping digest the meal. Executive Chef Francesco Lamanna personally walked us through each option. He aims to guide every guest participating in the Digestif Cart, since it’s meant to be enjoyed as an experience!

Since we’d be enjoying dessert, it was recommended we try the Bergamotto Fantastico. They poured the spirit over ice and garnished it with a sprig of lavender. The spirit was strong yet refreshing, with notes of citrus and pine. Drinking it felt like consuming a sophisticated version of gin, but more complex in the best of ways.

Tasty Truffle Tiramisu

Lastly, they served us an exclusive preview of San Babila’s Truffle Tiramisu, which will be making its debut shortly! This decadent dessert is filled with rich liquor, which is balanced out excellently by smooth espresso. Beautiful layers of cake and cream were present in every bite. The only thing that made it better was the tableside shaving of fresh truffle to garnish the dessert! Truly a tiramisu to remember!

Photo Courtesy: Tessa M. Dobrow

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Inside Hornitos Mex Gala: NYC’s Ultimate Cinco de Mayo Party

by Jasawn Pryce
written by Jasawn Pryce

While the Met Gala made headlines on Monday, another kind of celebration was creating its own spotlight, rooted in culture, community, and tequila. On Monday, May 5th, The Knockturnal celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style with Hornitos Tequila at their first-ever Hornitos Mex Gala and it was a night to remember.

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Restaurant Review: Philippe Chow

by Andrea Christensen
written by Andrea Christensen

Philippe Chow, a couture Chinese restaurant on the Upper East Side, is an interesting concept in itself. After all, ask any Chinese person and they will tell you that you should never pay expensively for good traditional Chinese food. So how does Philippe compare to the more traditional, if less fancy restaurants of China Town?

Philippe Chow, once the head chef of Mr. Chow (which was opened by Michael Chow, no relation) took a chance and opened his own Chinese restaurant on the Upper East Side. The restaurant is in motifs of black and white with dim mood lighting and three rooms available–a bar, dining room, and private room. It’s also interesting to note that though this is a Chinese restaurant, there is no part of the decor that hints to that heritage save for some black bamboo in the windows. In fact, the style of the place is a little reminiscent of a high class version of an American restaurant in the 60’s. The servers are in white coat tails, and the service is fast and attentive.

IMG_8228But let’s move on to what’s really at stake here: the food. The food, I can safely say, is good. And it should be if the patrons are paying 3 times more than they would for a traditional Chinese meal. The good news is that Philippe’s is authentic, and the drinks are creative and tasty, albeit a little pricey–almost $20 per cocktail. For entrees, we sampled three: lettuce wraps with shrimp, garlic scallops with bell peppers, and of course, the creme de la creme of any Chinese restaurant, the Peking duck ($75).

The Peking Duck was brought out and sliced in front of you, which was nice to see. It came with plum duck sauce, thin flour wraps, and green onions, customary of any Chinese place that serves Peking Duck. The duck itself was great, cooked the perfect amount, and really the only thing I had that night that was almost worth its price. This Upper East Side eatery is catered to a particular clientele for sure, but let me just share a secret with you: the food at Philippe is no different than the food you can get in Chinatown for $15. So whether you go uptown to Philippe’s or order in depends on how you wish to experience this amazing cuisine!

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