Ca Va

For all of you who haven't visited me in a few days you may not know that it is NYC RESTAURANT WEEK!!!

This week I went to Todd English's Ca Va for a delicious 3-course restaurant week dinner with my best friend Emmy.  I have been to Olives, another Todd English restaurant, in Union Square and absolutely loved everything I ate so I expected the same from Ca Va... some parts of the meal were incredible while others left a bit to be desired.

WARNING: There is nothing healthy about the following meal.  The food at Ca Va was decadently rich and I may need to eat fruits, veggies, and egg whites for the rest of July in order to balance it out.

APPETIZERS

MINE: Tarte Provencial

A flakey, buttery puffed pastry topped with creamy tomato marmalade, olive, chevre (I love goat cheese!), and fried artichokes.  Everything about this tarte was perfect except the artichokes... they were a bit over cooked and not really worth eating.

EMMY'S: Classic Lobster Bisque

I'm not going to lie, this was more of a tomato soup than a lobster bisque but it was delicious either way. I could taste the lobster stock used in the soup but I wish there had been some actual lobster meat to make it a bit more special.

SHARED: Truffle Mac N' Cheese

I am going to dream about this mac n' cheese for the rest of my life!  When Emmy and I sat down and saw this on the menu we contemplated whether we actually needed an extra dish but after tasting this I knew we made the right decision!  The pasta was covered in a smooth, creamy, gooey, cheesy, truffle sauce and then covered in cheese and breadcrumbs and baked until crispy.  This was pretty much heaven on a plate.

MAIN COURSE

MINE: Hand Rolled Penne

Boy does Ca Va know how to do pasta! This hand rolled penne was tossed with succulent pieces of rabbit and a buttery fragrant sauce chasseur.  I loved how rustic and hearty this dish was without feeling too heavy.

EMMY'S: Poule BBQ

I hate to say it but I didn't like this dish at all... The chicken was overcooked and rubbery, the BBQ sauce had far too much curry, and the lyonnaise potato salad was really a frisee salad with 2 slices of potato in it.

DESSERT

MINE: Cinnamon Creme Brulee

I enjoyed my entire meal but I really could have just eaten the truffle mac n' cheese and this creme brulee and called it a day.  There is just something so exciting about breaking the hard caramel topping on a creme brulee.  This dessert was so perfectly thick, rich, and sweet with a spicy hint of cinnamon.  THEN, on top of it all this, it was served with a side of berry macadamia biscuits.  After I ate the crunchy topping off of the custard I couldn't help but dip the biscuits into the remaining cream, I did everything but lick the plate! (and to be honest, if I had been in the privacy of my own home I probably would have used my index finger to get every last bit out of the dish)

EMMY'S: Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake

I thought this was fine but nothing special, however, Emmy really loved it.  I guess I'm partial to a NY style cheesecake and this just didn't meet my expectations.  To each his own...

So, there you have it, my Ca Va restaurant week experience.  If you decide to try it out I'd recommend eating my meal from start to finish and skipping everything that Emmy ordered. SORRY EM!