Italian Wine & Dine Masseria dei Vini NYC
During our week in NYC attending an industry conference and visiting son Alec, we dined at Masseria dei Vini
(Masseria of Wines) which is a favorite of Viv's Bergonzi family when
they are dining in town. The name is derived from masserias or fortified
farmhouses, where in the Puglia region of Southern Italy, many of them
have been transformed into restaurants
or hotels. Chef Pino Coladonato is a native of Rutigliano (Bari),
and has created a menu of dishes from
Puglia, which incorporate fish, shellfish and a selection of
homemade pastas. They offer an extensive
wine list which features a large selection of mostly premium and
ultra-premium labels, mainly from
Italy, but also America, and a by-the-glass (BTG) selection too.
These pages have many posts from dining at our Angelis Italian
in our hometown of Naperville, our favorite Italian trattoria, which is
our benchmark for Italian dining. Its always interesting to compare
Angelis with notable and popular Italian restaurants around the country,
especially in dining meccas such as NYC.
From the Masseria dei Vini dinner menu, Alec ordered SPAGHETTI AL NERO CON VONGOLE, homemade Squid Ink Spaghetti with fresh baby clams, garlic and white wine sauce. I ordered AGNOLOTTI
PIEMONTESI, homemade Half Moon shaped Ravioli Stuffed with Veal, in a
Mix Wild Mushroom Sauce. Linda ordered the eggplant appetizer for her dinner entree, POLPETTINE ALLA FONTELINA, Eggplant Cakes with a Hint of Tomato Sauce and Basil. For a starter, we ordered the mussels.
The service including our server, Isaac, were excellent, knowledgeable, attentive, professional, and personable.
Comparing
to our home court Angelis, we found the mussels lacking, especially the
sauce which was comparatively plain and uninspiring, perhaps lacking the white wine and butter components at Angelis. My pasta was also
lacking in comparison to an Angelis dish I regularly order, which is
more flavorful, especially the brown mushroom sauce. The veal in the Masseria dish seemed to be substandard. Good news for our hometown site.
From the winelist I order this Deltetto Roero Braja Riserva DOCG.
Deltetto has been producing high quality wines in Piemonte’s historic and prestigious wine producing areas of Roero and Langhe since 1953. The family estate has 21 hectares (40 acres) of vineyards and the family’s winery in Canale, in the heart of the Roero in the Piemontese region.
Founder Carlo Deltetto's son
Antonio and grandson Carlo run the business today, faithful to
the founder's vision resulting in a broad family of wines that are known internationally.
Deltetto Roero Braja Riserva DOCG 2013
This is based on the Nebbiolo varietal. It is intense ruby red
color, medium bodied, a firm structure with layer of elegant tannins,
with a bouquet and flavors of intense red and black berry and black
raspberry fruits.
RM 88 points.