Pulino's Bar & Pizzeria

It took me this long to get to Keith McNallys last restaurant that he opened, Pulino's.  He has a formula that certainly works in terms of decor.  The restaurant looks familiar as in you can close your eyes and be at a retooled version of Morandi, Pastis, Balthazaar or Minetta Tavern but you aren't.  What is happening in the kitchen is completely different.  He knows his formula as I am pretty certain I have never been to one of McNallys restaurants that aren't packed at almost every meal...breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

I was at Pulino's with the Hot Bread Kitchen gang.  Our annual dinner where the board and staff get together to celebrate our year.  It has been quite a year too.  Our product is making its way onto the shelves of Whole Foods and into the mouths of Chipolte customers.  So for a large table..I believe we were a group of 18 and the food was really great.

We began with a winter salad.  Hazelnuts, roasted squash, roasted mushrooms, shaved parm and a mixture of greens.  Really tasty.  Love a good salad that celebrates the season.

Next out was a big hunk of lasagna.  You can just cut through this with a fork.  A nice spicy bolognese sauce that oozed out of the piece mixed together with melted cheese.  A treat.

Pastas came next.  The gnocchi was particularly good.  Soft potato gnocchis mixed together with a wild boar sauce with a little shaved parm over the top.  Perfect for a cold winter night.

Wide pieces of pasta mixed together with roasted mushrooms and some greens.  Just simple and loaded with butter and olive oil. 

Pizza is certainly there thing.  A large wood burning oven in the kitchen.  Thin crust.  The top pizza is your classic margherita with tomato, mozzarella and basil.   The other one is a combo of spicy pepperoni, tomato, oregano and olives.  I loved how the olives baked in the pizza and that salt really was a nice touch with the rest of the ingredients.

Another pizza was with prosciutto, pecorino and arugula.  A little lighter. 

Dessert was a tiramasu.  This looks structured but a spoon cuts straight through it.  I have always been a fan of tiramasu.  Love the cold thick pudding after a warm Italian dinner.

A nice touch...chocolate sundaes for the table.

Really nice night.  Like all of McNallys restaurants, I always have a good meal.  We didn't get to have any of the main entrees but my guess is we went with the right meal.  Fun to come and share a bunch of dishes with friends and colleagues.  Will return!

(Just a pet peeve that I have to note, why do restaurants make you download their menus in pdf files?  So annoying.)