Crispo : Amazing Italian!

For Valentine's Day, my fiancé and I wanted to go somewhere we had never been before. We also didn't want to go somewhere where you are forced to order off a special Valentine's Day menu and spend way more than we would on a normal night at the same restaurant.  After receiving many rave reviews from friends, we decided upon Crispo (240 West 14th St., between 7th and 8th Ave, New York, NY). We couldn't get a reservation until 9:30 for that night, which is much later than we normally would eat on a Saturday night, but decided that due to the holiday we would give it a try anyhow.

When we arrived, it was beyond crowded at the entry way and took quite a lot of work to make our way to the hostess stand to even check in. We were a little early for our reservation, so we were fine waiting to be sat for a little bit and were instructed to wait at the bar until we were called. The bar area was extremely packed too, and we became worried we may never be sat! Luckily, after about 15 minutes at the bar, we were called for our table, which was only about 5 minutes after our reservation time. For such a busy holiday, not so bad!
Since my fiancé and I love to try as many dishes as we can, we had trouble picking dishes without over ordering. When we asked the waitress her opinion on what we were ordering, she told us that the restaurant could make half portions of the two pasta dishes for us so that we could try both and we wouldn't over order! This was music to our ears and gave us the small plate experience that we love! 

Truffled Bufala Mozzarella - Truffle Puree, Chickpea Panelle, Rocket

To start, we ordered 3 small places that were all very different from one another and all award winning to my tastebuds. 

First, we had the Truffled Bufala Mozzarella which was delicious! The mozzarella was extra creamy and sat atop a fried chickpea cake. It had the consistency of fried polenta, which we enjoyed thoroughly and was a nice compliment to the creamy mozzarella. Also it was much more exciting than plain bread. The mozzarella was topped with pureed truffle and truffle oil which made every bite oozing with exceptional flavor. 

Grilled Octopus al Panelle - Chickpea cake, rocket, preserved tomato, lemon

Next, we had The Grilled Octopus al Panelle, which was also exceptional. The perfectly cooked octopus was super meaty and flavorful with its own natural flavors. It wasn't overly spiced or seasoned, which was nice because I personally love the flavor of octopus on its own. It was also served atop a chickpea cake, which was a nice touch, but not necessary for this dish, since the octopus is amazing on its own. I did like the sundried tomatoes that accompanied the octopus, but did not care for the olives which were not mentioned in the summary of the dish! My fiancé and I hate olives, so if we had known there were olives, we would have definitely told the kitchen to leave them out since the idea of olives touching our other food makes us both cringe.

Roast Bone Marrow w/ Escargot Bourgogne - 3 bones, white wine braised snails, parsley, garlic butter, bread crumbs, sea salt

Our third small plate was the Roasted Bone Marrow with Escargot Bourgogne. This dish was extremely unique because I have never seen bone marrow paired with escargot in the same dish. My fiancé and I love escargot and bone marrow, so this was a pleasing duo! The bone marrow was extremely meaty for bone marrow and we both felt as though there was actually a lot there to consume. I normally feel like after 1 bite, there is no more marrow left on the bone, so this was a great surprise! Also, the garlic butter and bread crumbs added a lot of flavor to the marrow and made me lick the bone till there was not a crumb left. The snails were a delicious addition to this dish and let us have our "cake and eat it too" kind of experience! The only negative was the bone was too hot to touch and even after letting it sit for a while it was still extremely hot! 

Toasted Bread with confit of caramelized onions & raisins

The bone marrow was accompanied with toasted bread and confit of caramelized onions and raisins. I personally didn't use the bread for my bone marrow because I didn't want to mute any of the flavors with the bread. But the confit on its own was tasty because of the caramelized onions that were in it. I wouldn't pair these items together, however definitely great separately!






Romantic Ambiance





Black Truffle Ricotta Ravioli



Our first pasta was the Black Truffle Ricotta Ravioli. The ravioli melted in my mouth because of the rich truffle flavor and smooth ricotta filling. It was so good that it was like eating dessert for dinner! You could tell the ravioli was made fresh in house and was made with care and love! The half size portion was perfect for us to share, as we were already getting full from our small plates!  



Pappardelle & Duck Ragu

The Pappardelle & Duck Ragu was also exceptional. It was extremely hearty and meaty with chunks of ground duck meat and amazing tomato sauce. The sauce was full of flavor, while the meat was cooked perfectly so that it was still moist and tender. The pappardelle was fresh and definitely homemade. When we were done eating, we both kind of wanted more of this dish! 

Tasting of Creme Brûlée & Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding

For dessert we ordered the Tasting of Creme Brûlée & Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding based on the waitress' recommendation. She was definitely right about this dessert, it was to die for! I loved that we got to have two styles of dessert in one without having to sacrifice one. The creme brûlée was amazing with the hard sugar layer on top and caramel flavor! The chocolate pudding was rich, creamy, and almost like eating chocolate fudge. Definitely a chocolate lover's dream.  I loved that we could enjoy rich chocolate and creme brûlée in one dish! 

I loved Crispo and would definitely return again for some more homemade pappardelle!  My fiancé  thinks Otto is better, but I think the pasta dishes are definitely within the same level of each other. The only thing missing from the menu at Crispo is pizza, but the small plates and pasta are unreal and definitely make up for it!