Whom You Know: Peachy Picks Serafina

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Peachy Picks Serafina

We first featured Serafina in Tasty Tidbits:

http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/09/tasty-tidbits-serafina.html

Serafina has advanced to Peachy's Picks and this clear-cut winner had every element of success going for it throughout our meal: the Italian cuisine was superb, the atmosphere was perfect and the service was top-notch. The Serafina Restaurant Group has never disappointed us and we also have recommended Manana and Brasserie Cognac which are other gems in the crown of this restaurant group.

Peachy Deegan began with a glass of champagne from the Serafina reserve-an absolutely perfect way to begin the meal, and she and the Whom You Know panel began with a dish that you all should try as a starter: the Focaccia Di Sofia- Al Tartufo d'Alba. On the menu it states: "Our own specialty and secret," however, as you know Peachy Deegan always has the insider scoop and we heard that the fabulously fresh Focaccia is filled with ricotta cheese and truffle oil. Just decadent!

This was followed by our salad selection. We ordered both the Chopra, which is like a green salad taken up quite a few notches. The mixed greens are accompanied by pears, cherry tomatoes, corn, asparagus, and walnuts and is paired perfectly with lemon vinaigrette dressing. The fresh lobster salad was to die for:

Just looking at that picture makes us want to go back right now. It is the best lobster salad we have ever seen and it tasted just as good as it looks. The lobster was sliced thinly and was perfectly flavorful.

The appetizer we recommend is the Avocado "San Pietro" which was deliciously fresh and beautifully presented:

Avocado, baby shrimp, argula, grape tomatoes and canellini beans composed this mouthwatering starter. The shrimp was served warm and we loved how the tomatoes were decorated around the outside. Clearly Serafina is aware it is Fashion Week - everything was so pretty.

A visit to Serafina is not complete without their famous pizza-we tried the Primavera-tomato, mozzarella, and seasonal garden vegetables decorated the crisp, fresh dough. All pizzas are gourmet and prepared in a special oven constructed of volcanic lava from Vesuvio and a mixture of Sardinian and Sicillan sea salt, to ensure a moisture-free and crispy crust. They use a special water filtration system when preparing the dough to replicate the water in Naples, where pizza originated. Their mozzarella is made fresh daily with fresh milk. Need we say more about why you need to try the pizza! Absolutely exquisite:

Edwin Jimenez was fabulously attentive all night as our waiter and his personality was as charming as his attention to detail. The crowd was among the most pleasant we have encountered and everyone around us was pleased as punch with everything they were ordering. We loved the non-stuffy atmosphere that was classy chic.

Also, you should know this is a huge celebrity hangout. In addition to Peachy Deegan and the fabulous Whom You Know dining panel, we understand that Maria Sharapova comes here (we are guessing in her Cole Haan shoes!), Harrison Ford orders takeout pizza and drinks vodka at the bar while he is waiting for it to be ready, and that a certain famous baseball player and a well-known actress frequent Serafina. Roberto Cavalli, Elle McPherson and countless others prioritize Serafina to be among their most favorite restaurants we have heard.

The fireworks of the evening that came in the form of cuisine in the main course was the Spaghetti Alli Aragosta-spaghetti with a whole lobster in spicy tomato sauce. This was like no other lobster Peachy Deegan has ever had and it ranks among her all-time favorites now! You must order this when you go to Serafina. We could not imagine this being any fresher. The Limoncello topped off the meal so well - the only way it could have tasted any better would be if Danny DeVito was sitting next to us enjoying it in our company.

Dessert was composed of the famous Serafina Tiramisu-like Grandma used to make, maybe better they say-we say it is better! The Berry Tart was just decadent and not to miss:

We have heard it is consistently fresh throughout the year, even when the berries are not in season. For drinks, we recommend the passion martini: grey goose, passion puree and chambord. Wine by the glass is superb as well and for red we recommend the Supertuscan Badiola and for white the Sancerre. The evening was complete with the Grappa-41% alcohol by volume-we had the lo Chardonnay Nonini. It was similar to scotch.

Our dining panel commented:

"I really like Serafina restaurants, especially the one located on 29 East 61 street NYC, I heard from Peachy Deegan that this is the Serafina's flagship venue. Many tourists from all over the world as well as famous movie stars and baseball celebrities had stopped by the restaurant for lunch and dinner when they were in the neighborhood. Besides the wide selections of unique pizza, pasta dishes, wine/cocktails list & desserts menu, this restaurant is also very famous for their colorful and lively ambiance, great location, excellent service, and the beautiful model-look alike waitresses/hostess.

Their salad, pizza and pasta dishes are lovely, the price is very reasonable, and you can taste as many authentic Italian dishes as if you were dinning in Italy. They serve rather upscale food in the heart of a very upscale NYC location, however the ambiance is very casual and fun, it is not stuffy like a typical high-end Italian restaurant.

My favorite dishes include the Lobster Carpaccio salad (thin sliced fresh lobster with chopped organic baby arugla, grilled corn and heart of palm). Then, the appetizer -Di Sofia Al Tartufo d'Alba- Truffle Pizza with Risotto stuffing, absolutely delicious and rare! Followed by the Entree-Ravioli Al Tartufo Nero filled with black truffle and a touch of butter, it just hits the spot especially for truffle lovers. My favorite dessert is the Limoncello, according to our waiter-Edwin, this sweet wine can help with your digestion and can be very soothing to the stomach after a festive meal, you have to try it for yourself!"

Whom You Know strongly endorses Serafina and you must go if you have not been!

***

On Peachy Deegan:

Smile by Dr. Garo Nazarian:
http://www.cosmopolitandental.com/

Dress by Donna Ricco:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/07/dress-of-week-sleeveless-roll-neck.html

Shoes by Kenneth Cole:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/search/label/Shoe%20of%20the%20week-Women

Skincare by Clarins:
http://us.clarins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/cosmetics-products_face__-1_10051_10204_Y_10315__

Hair by Erica Bennett:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/08/erica-bennett-endorsed-by-whom-you-know.html

Makeup by Clinique:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/06/product-alert-bamboo-pink-collection.html

Sunglasses by Jennifer Creel:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/07/whom-you-knows-sunglasses-of-summer.html

Serafina Fabulous Grill
29 East 61st Street (and Madison)
New York, NY 10021
212.702.9898

Serafina Fabulous Pizza
1022 Madison Ave. (and 79th Street)
New York, NY 10021
212.734.2676

Serafina Osteria
38 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10022
212.832.8888

Serafina Broadway
210 West 55th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.315.1700

Serafina at The Time Hotel
224 West 49th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.247.1000

Website:

www.serafinarestaurant.com

Recent Testimonials by Brand Ambassadors on their Experience with Whom You Know

"I work with Peachy Deegan because she's prolific at what she does. She's a hard worker, she's thoughtful and she's tasteful at what she writes which is very important. Peachy gets the facts correct, and just that alone is worth its weight in gold."

-Edward Tricomi, Master Stylist and Owner of Warren-Tricomi
https://warrentricomi.com/

"No one has yet to express their taste for our cuisine better than Peachy Deegan on Whom You Know. Thank you for transforming our flavor into words, unlike any other before.
Sometimes WHOM YOU KNOW, really makes a difference and Ammos Estiatorio is grateful to know Peachy Deegan!"
-
Dimitris Nakos, Founder and Owner of
Ammos Estiatorio
https://ammosnewyork.com/

“Whom You Know has done an amazing job of featuring our company over many years [seven]. Peachy has worked tirelessly to create a well-curated selection of topics and brands that are clearly of relevance to her growing audience of readers. Her articles are filled with great insights based on first-hand experience. She does her research, knows her business and is a pleasure to work with!”

-David Sasuga, Owner of Fresh Origins Microgreens
www.FreshOrigins.com

"Peachy Deegan has the pulse of the nation and highlights exceptional opinion leaders in more than 23,000 inspiring and entertaining posts. Her 100,000 twitter followers are a true testimony to Peachy’s ability to inspire, motivate and entertain. She is a feminine force to be reckoned with and an exemplary example of an influential voice in today’s world."

-Mica Mosbacher, author of the new book The Hurricane Factor: Stormside Patriots and tv political commentator

"It was an honour to be chosen for Movers and Shakers by Peachy Deegan. The questions in the interview were intelligent and insightful and I thoroughly enjoyed answering them. The reaction to the interview has been overwhelmingly positive and has helped bring my art practice to a wider audience."
-Damien Flood, Internationally Acclaimed Artist
http://www.damienflood.ie/

"We were so fortunate to hit Peachy’s radar. Her review of our Warmies was spot-on and came at a great time in our company’s early history.
Peachy has such a strong relationship with her readers. She provides honest and real comments; she is truly a trusted source in a very large circle
of consumers."
-Scott Wehrs
President
Intelex U.S.A.
http://www.intelexusallc.com/

"We at Primola love working with Whom You Know and are proud to have been a highly-ranked Manhattan restaurant by Peachy Deegan since 2012, and are featured seasonally. We appreciate the fantastic work Peachy does highlighting our cuisine with her sublime writing style and the whole neighborhood of the Upper East side. Also, we are glad that she has started a Made in Italy column! If you have the opportunity to be considered for review, we'd highly recommend working with her."
-Giuliano Zuliani, Owner of Primola Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/Primola-Canaletto-restaurants-NYC-135616799831091

"
Peachy Deegan is a gem. She is wonderful to feature our Irish brands in 'Whom You Know'! The articles are beautifully and passionately presented, bringing products and brands to life, making both relevant and fun for her many faithful followers to read. I am immensely proud for our hand-crafted products to be included in this venue!"

-
Bill Follett
President, Belleek Group North America
www.Belleek.com

"As you know from my past features, Peachy Deegan and I were in the same class at Boston College prior to either of us becoming entrepreneurs. When we played together on the BC Alumni softball team in Central Park years ago, she mentioned she could not find a great dentist in Manhattan and could often be found networking on her phone in the outfield hiding from the ball. She was my second patient ever in 2006 when I opened my dental practice; I was one of the first sponsors on Whom You Know and the first Mover and Shaker featured in 2009 and have worked with her continuously since. She's even talked her friends that are doctors into being my patients, and they subsequently send their hospital colleagues. I don't know anyone that is as great of a networker and writer as Peachy, nevermind that she is upstanding and always good for her word. Cosmopolitan Dental is so happy to be in the company of the caliber of major brands she works with today, and although she will tell you a million ways to get your teeth dirty between Peachy's Picks, Terrific Takeout and Peachy's Pantry, Peachy Deegan will tell you there is only one way to get your teeth clean!"
-Dr. Garo Nazarian, Founder and Owner of Cosmopolitan Dental
http://cosmopolitandental.com/