Braved the bitter cold last night to join my friend Jenn at D.O.C. Wine Bar, a Sardinian enoteca, located on a blustery corner in Williamsburg. We had almost decided not to go the extra block up 7th and just duck into our usual B-burg dinner haunt, Planet Thailand, but ultimately the additional block's walk in the frigid wind was worth it.
The second I opened the door I was greeted by a small, rustic, candlelit tavern, rough-hewn wooden tables and chairs, bottles and bottles of wine and most of all - warmth. I happily plunked myself down across from Jenn at a corner table. The waiter came over and quickly charmed us into buying a bottle of robust Italian red. Why not? We were beginning to thaw and it seemed like a good plan to stay put for the rest of the evening.
After a restorative glass of vino, it didn't take too much prompting to get us to split an order of the Smoked Swordfish Carpaccio special. The dish's topping of julienned greens, radishes, carrots and chopped hearts of palm were the perfect foil for the lightly smoked and buttery soft, thin slices of toothsome fish. The plate was cleaned within minutes.
Still feeling a bit undernourished, we asked for an antipasto plate of mixed cheeses, cured meats and grilled vegetables for one. I can't imagine how big the plate for two must be, because the wooden tray that was laid upon the table was bursting with mortadella, proscuitto, salumi, bresaola, three kinds of Sardinian cheeses (thankfully, the notorious Casu Marzu wasn't included), a rose made from grilled slices of zucchini and eggplant, and a large, round, house-baked, wafer-thin, flat bread dotted with rosemary leaves, known as carta da musica ("sheet-music paper"). Crisp and flavorful, it was a wonderful crackling accompaniment the rich meats and cheeses.
Fairly full and fairly tipsy, we still were unwilling to leave and brave the cold night air.
The waitstaff understood completely and immediately put a plate of Panettone with a Strawberry Zabaglione Sauce in the middle of our table. And, wouldn't it be unforgiveable to eat this decadent Italian dessert in a wine bar without some sort of dessert wine counterpoint? We had no choice. Two glasses of Brachetto d'Acqui were ordered.
We ate. We drank. We lingered until we could linger no longer. And, finally we realized that the L train might stop running, if we didn't head out. So, begrudgingly we layered ourselves in hats, scarves, gloves and alike and headed out. Once the door to D.O.C. closed behind us, the icy cold hit us like a Mack truck. But, even with the cold nipping at our heels, I don't think we would've opted for delivery fare in our well-heated homes over our night's visit to Sardinia via Williamsburg.
nice website like the designs
Posted by: scat dominas | August 06, 2004 at 08:55 AM