In Ithaca Again and the Food is Great!

Not thought of, I am sure, as the culinary capital of Upstate/Central/Western New York, Ithaca has some really great restaurants.

Friday night we went to Taste of Thai Express on South Meadow Street (www.tasteofthaiexpress.com).  Our waiter was terrific!  We had Tom Kha and Tom Yum soups-both very good.  We had Pad See Ew, Spicy Rad Nah, Panang Curry, Green Curry and Red Curry.  Dessert was Black sweet sticky rice and coconut custard.  A couple of Thai iced teas and iced coffees and a lot of water :)

Saturday night took the cake however.  We went to Mercato (http://www.mercatobarandkitchen.com/).  Our waitress was Danya and she was superb!  We shared everything:  South Side Cocktail: Plymouth Gin, lemon juice and mint; Sparkling Blue Moon cocktail: LIV Vodka, Creme de Violette, Prosecco and lime juice; a bottle of Montepulciano, Silvano Strologo, "Julius," Marche, 2007 and lots of water.  Appetizers were:  Caponata & Goat Cheese Crostini; Clams Casino; Arugula, Fennel and Goat Cheese salad.  Dinner was:  Spinach Gnocchi, Ricotta Salata with Oven roasted tomato sauce; Fettuccine with Clam Sauce; Eggplant & Goat Cheese Agnolotti with Tomato coulis; Pan Seared Sea Scallops over Fava beans, sweet corn, herb scallop broth with shoe-string fries; and Pan Roasted Pork Chop with Grilled peaches and fingerling potatoes.

The scallops were the best any of us had ever.  The pork chop was phenomenal.  We added sauteed rainbow chard to the table and then had dessert:  Vanilla Panna Cotta with Strawberry-rhubarb jus; Biscotti -Almond, anise, mocha and mosaic; Blood orange sorbet; Affogato-Espresso with vanilla ice cream and Seasonal Fruit Crostata with Asian pears.  The Affogato was heavenly!

I cannot say enough about Mercato.  The prices were high, but worth it.  Maybe special occasion visits, more than everyday eating though.

Had a great time with our family and Jesse!