'inoteca

Tonight I had the pleasure of joining most of Laura's family for an outing. Our starting point was dinner at 'inoteca on the Lower East Side. I knew the evening was off to a good start when walking directly from the 6 train stop took a lot less time than expected. Unfortunately, the slow bringing of the check after a mixed-up order plus traffic caused us to sprint to the theater later. There was bound to be some rushing though...this is New York.

That isn't to say that the service was all bad at 'inoteca. When I arrived the sommelier had already set-up our table with wine. According to the B's he was quite knowledgeable and had great taste. I'm not even going to claim to understand wine, so I'll just add that I enjoyed what was presented to me. The next challenge was interpreting the menu, which is basically in Italian. The staff was helpful here too as they didn't mind explaining everything more than once.

I started with a beet salad with orange, mint, and hazelnuts ($8) so good that I hardly wanted to share. It was worth it to taste Laura's salad with baby strawberries, balsamic vinegar, and greens and Gary's salad. Laura and I had paninis for dinner. While good the roasted vegetable and ricotta fresca panini ($9) did not live up to the inventive, flavorful salad. Laura's prosciutto, pesto, and tomato panini ($9) fared better, but still didn't excite me as much as our introductory food. That said, 'inoteca is definitely worth a try. Just be aware that when you eat beets, they will affect you for a few days afterward...

Location: 98 Rivington Street @ Ludlow Street
Hours: Mon-Sun 12:00p-3:00a, Brunch Sat-Sun 10a-4p
Cost: $$