Revisiting Da Domenico

It probably doesn't come as a surprise that I tell the time of the year not by calendar or by weather, but by food! At this time of year, two delicacies are at their best - Shanghai crab and truffles!

We went to Da Domenico to celebrate a birthday tonight, and we had white truffles on our minds :) It's not on the menu, so you either have to call ahead and reserve it, or have your fingers crossed that there's still some lying around when you ask the senior server.















White truffle on a baked egg ($390) - the moment that it was put down onto the table the scent of the truffles just waft right up and it was amazing. Simple preparation is Da Domenico's signature. This was an egg baked in a dish graced with shaved truffle on top and some truffle bits in the egg white, but it was a real treat!




One dish we didn't have last time was the Scamorza, which is basically grilled cheese ($220, pictured is a half portion). It was a bit rubbery this time though.

















We ordered our Vongole (clams, $520) and Cozze (mussels, $450) again. Just thought it was cute that the mussels were the size of my fingernail! The clams were succulent and had a "sweetness" to them, the mussels were a bit saltier.





Another favorite - the grilled calamari ($580). They weren't the tiny little baby squid we had last time, but it was still good. They didn't have the calamari pasta I had last time though :(







Of course, we had the Linguine Gamberi ($520), and we also had a Fettuccine Ragu ($280). Nothing spectacular or special with the fettuccine, and there are better ragus out there for sure.

Prices have gone up across the board, like $30 more for soup, $100 more for the calamari. Even a bottle of San Pellegrino went up from $70 to $80. Just be mentally prepared to plunk down a lot of money for a meal and you won't feel so shocked when you see the bill. The restaurant was basically full, so service was slow today. I think there was a gap of about 30 minutes between our appetizers (truffled egg, soup, scamorza) and the rest of the dishes.

I have to say I'm still sitting on the fence about this place. The food is simple and very good overall, but I can't help but notice the kinks in service and eye-opening price tag.

To read the first Da Domenico post, please scroll down (if you're on the main page) or visit http://pleasuresofeating.blogspot.com/2010/10/da-domenico.html