One of the best meals of my life

For my birthday, I told Jared what I really wanted was to go to a nice dinner. Somewhere out of the neighborhood. Somewhere different. And, the biggest thing:  I didn't want to have anything to do with the choosing/planning. When it comes to food, I'm totally out of control. I'll spend hours reading NY Magazine reviews trying to pick a place to go to dinner, and we've spent more than a few nights wandering for hours - HOURS - around the village while I can't make up my mind about where to dine. It's bad. So the number one thing I wanted for this dinner was to be surprised and have all of those choices out of my control. 

So last night I met Jared at Bryant Park after work and he led me on the subway downtown, across a few blocks, and we ended up in front of Babbo. 

Well done, sir!

Without hesitation I can say it was one of the best meals of my life.

One of those dinners when everything just comes together and it's the perfect ambiance, and the food blows your mind, and the conversation is easy, and you're looking across the table at this great person thinking this is all just perfect.

That was last night.

Here's what we ate:

Pear and ginger bellini for moi

Negroni for him

Neci con funghi misti

Pumpkin lune with sage and amaretti

Pappardelle bolognese

Red snapper with fennel and lemon and cippoline onions

Grilled Pork Chop with Cherry Peppers, Cipolline and Aceto Manodori 

Pistachio and chocolate semifreddo

It was all completely stellar. But the dessert. Oh that dessert. It was of the life-changing variety. No joke. I was virtually making out with my spoon. I asked Jared if I could lick the plate. I talked about it all the way home. And for the rest of the night. And I've been thinking about it all day.

Babbo has a wonderfully mellow vibe, and yet there is such an attention to detail for every dish that you feel quite spoiled. The service, and the whole experience, was impeccable.

The other best meals of my life?

- A 3 1/2 hour long New Years Eve dinner at La Casa Bianca

- Honeymoon dining on the water in Curacao at Bistro le Clochard 

- This past October at FIG in Charleston