An Eating Marathon, of Sorts

The eating season is upon us. Starting at Thanksgiving and ending in the New Year, we all participate in a figurative eating marathon, or so it seems. For purposes of this gastronology, I equate the 26 mile venture with 26 days of eating, give or take a few days. In true spirit of the season, I am convinced that I am leading the marathon.

Without going into the intricacies, and perhaps grotesque, details of my daily eats, I'll give a quick summary of the highlight, thus far, to this season's eating experience. This past Friday, George and I celebrated his birthday at Fiamma. Fiamma, a restaurant situated in Soho, is part of the B.R.Guest association of restaurants. You may know of some of the other B.R. Guest member restaurants, including Blue Water Grill, Ruby Foos and Dos Caminos, to name a very few. Fiamma, meaning "flame" in Italian, is a 3-star sophisticated Italian restaurant, which has also earned a very prestigious Michelin star – a rarity in New York. I happened upon Fiamma's website during one of my weekly comprehensive online searches for interesting restaurants in New York City. On a lurch, I made a reservation thinking it might be a nice spot of a birthday celebration.

Our experience at Fiamma was outstanding. The ambiance, which I consider to be a necessary component to any good meal, was sexy, a little seductive perhaps, wholly inviting, and proportionately trendy. The tables were not so Euro-friendly (too close to each other…yes, I made the phrase up and it is genius), the service was impeccable and the staff knowledgeable and the food was unbelievably innovative and incredibly tasty. We started with the braised pork bellies, which consisted of a thick layer of pure soft fat that sort of hovered over a very thin shred of pork. They were so flavorful, so tender and just melted away in our mouths. The entrees were equally innovative. What was most interesting was the white truffle option to each entrée. For an extra $75, 10 grams of white truffle shavings were sprinkled over the dish. White truffles, I am understanding, are the crème de la crème of anything culinary. They are fungi royalty, coming only from the Piedmont region in Italy and pretty much create the most intense and sensual flavor to any meal.

Instead of having a traditional dessert, we decided to have the cheese platter, and believe me, this was a good decision. The cheeses, all Italian, were amazing. I instantly fell into a very intense love with a raw sheep's milk cheese that was laced in black truffles. The cheese, called Pecorino Tartufello, is truly a cheese worth finding.

Our experience at Fiamma was terrific. I recommend this restaurant for any special occasion, or if you have the money for an every night dinner, but definitely a meal worth this blog. My whole point in this is, yes, of course, to make your mouth water, but more importantly, or perhaps concerning, is to share with you a little of my eating experiences this season. Not all my eating on this figurative seasonal marathon has been as lavish as Fiamma, but in terms of calorie counting, I don't think it matters whether I am dining on gourmet pork bellies or canned peas – I am still eating….a lot.

Until next time…