#InauguralReview #Cecchis by #MichaelCecchiAzzolina #105West13thStreet #Manhattan a Follow Up to #ReadThis #YOURTABLEISREADY Tales of a New York City Maître D’ by #MichaelCecchiAzzolina @StMartinsPress
NOW YOUR TABLE IS REALLY READY.
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Well Manhattan, now your table actually IS READY and Peachy Deegan has met the author, Michael Cecchi Azzolina and because it has never been who you know in the history of the English language, it's WHOM YOU KNOW, we paid Cecchi's a priority visit. We've reviewed around 925 books in the last 14 years and over a thousand restaurants easily and who's counting, but Cecchi's is in a class by itself with the owner writing a book on the industry that we reviewed before his restaurant even existed. We can't remember going to a brand new place with an owner with such illustrated prior experience!
General Manager Alec Steidl and Peachy Deegan
It's evident that Cecchi's is aesthetically motivated and this is impressed upon you within seconds of entering its brand-new doors. Cecchi's opened on July 1, 2023 and it should be a major priority on your dining list based on our first experience; of course we want to see them perform well over time. We have dined at Cecchi's once and this is their first hit. It is Manhattan's hottest, newest American bistro.
It is also plain to see that Michael has assembled a deep, talented staff, the caliber of which is rare to see at such a new place but is not surprising given his restaurant history and obvious connections. Maitre D Jo Balmuri graciously greeted us as soon as we arrived and we were also impressed with General Manager Alec Steidl, who has put a lot of thought and effort into the American and French wine list that gives you a myriad of options, many of which we tried and approve of.
Chessa Metz is a thoughtful, talented, classy server and Jorge Vargas is a runner on the ball.
We began with an appetizer of a half dozen oysters, brilliantly sourced from Prince Edward Island. Of course the sauces come as expected in classic fashion and we like cocktail sauce, which is the right highlight for this summer festivity. Sourdough Boule is an obvious must for your table and you should know to get the bread, you have to order it. (Not true at all restaurants in Manhattan and we never remember ordering bread ever in our entire Connecticut childhood-as you all know Peachy has a lot of dinner experience...the table at the end of the night at Cecchi's was not unlike the picture of this table when she was around 3.)
Everyone knows we are motivated by French and it is the second language of Whom You Know as shown in our annual anniversary press releases the last two years (Thanks Pierre and Alain Delon we still want to dine with you at Il Gattopardo.) Of course we chose Sancerre to pair with our oysters: an auspicious start!
Heirloom Tomato Salad is exactly what you want for an August dinner and at Cecchi's you can be confident that they listen to how you order. The picky one here mostly does not like salad dressing and when she does like it, she wants to be the one applying it. Note the dressing on the side and you should know normally it is served dressed with the vinaigrette of vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper. The quality of the produce would impress even our friend Jodean of the famous Produce Show in December.
We cannot say enough about the Apricot Glazed Ribs and even if you are only popping in for a drink, you should order this too. They are flavored perfectly and the only way they could be better is if they used PEACH instead of apricot. It was the best appetizer.
Moving onto the entrees, named "Mains," the Pan Seared Wild Striped Bass was standout with corn sauce, cipollini (onion) and caulilini (baby cauliflower). Fresh and fabulous, the Wild Striped Bass met our seafood expectations.
You absolutely should go for whatever Sauteed Greens are hitting the table runway of Cecchi's when you visit. The model striking a pose for us was the Swiss Chard, elegantly prepared and devastatingly delicious. By far it was the best swiss chard we have had this year.
Alec had an ambitious itinerary for Peachy and really, all of the wine options are standout. Philosophically we believe what you are going to like is determined by your genetic palate rather than a blanket pairing, but the options are many and the quality runs deep on the Cecchi's wine list.
There is no great American bistro without a great American burger and Cecchi's nails it.
It was a perfect medium rare as ordered and shown above.
If you are for some reason new to us and you haven't read the other 28,000 posts, you should know we never edit pictures. You win like Michael or we do not publish.
House sauce, American Cheese (Peachy is a proud advocate of American cheese), pickled green tomatoes and fries raise the standard of this amazing burger and may we also suggest that you order onion rings to elevate the party further.
If Peachy was stranded on a desert island with only one wine from Cecchi's, she'd pick this one.
We have reviewed a ton of restaurants but don't remember ever having Grilled Corn Succotash. This should be on your must-try hit list of your Cecchi's visit because it is bright, nutritious and delicious. And, it's original.
Cecchi's makes the classics stand out in the most delightful way.
The piece de resistance here is without a doubt Steak and Fries in plain American English and at other places of course it might be called Steak Frites. This also was perfectly medium rare and was our favorite edible by a mile at our inaugural visit.
As much as we are enamored of French, we are way more into ENGLISH and you should know that the entire menu including Alec's wine bible is in ENGLISH. Bravo.
This should be your dinner tonight:
Two desserts are better than one and we will tell you to let it go when you visit (and maybe Chessa will sing it to you on the seas) and don't count calories and be boring. Strawberry Shortcake sings a song of summer and if you like cheesecake, Passionfruit Caramel is on the menu.
Yes, your table is ready so go see Michael Cecchi.
We hope they keep up the excellent work!
YOUR TABLE IS READY.
YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!
A modern take on the classic New York bar & grill by @michaelcecchiazzolina at 105 West 13th St.
