An exceptional meal at Barbuto -NYC

To enjoy the lovely weather, we ventured into NYC yesterday afternoon to walk around SOHO, shop at Uniqlo, and ultimately make our way to Chef Jonathan Waxman's Barbuto for an early dinner. As is often the case, the Chef was there overseeing operations and greeting many regular patrons. As always, a Saturday night there is packed, full of interesting people of all ages. No, it isn't a fancy restaurant with table cloths, the design is original and industrial. The walls are made from garage doors and so, on a day like yesterday, the walls just open up and voila, we are outside but inside. The food, as always was exceptional. If we usually judge our meals on a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 being the highest, my salad was a 10, my roast chicken was a 12, as was D.'s pasta, our crispy potatoes a 14, and our desert, a semi-freddo (similar to an ice cream), was a 15. So many times we eat at a nice restaurant and find the deserts so disappointing and not worth the calories. But whenever this is on the menu, we order it and it is always wonderful. We eat all over the world, but there is only one place in NYC where we feel as though we are eating food cooked with love and care, and by someone with a true European flare.