It only happens once a year.

Black Truffles are back!

Andrew Carmellini – chef and restauranteur of Locanda Verde in NYC knows how to handle truffles. 

For the third year in the row, he held his one night only trufflepalooza dinner and I was able to score one of the few remaining reservations of the night. 

Now I may not like mushrooms, but I love truffles. I love their funky aroma and taste.  They can elevate a bland dish to incredible heights. 

3 out of the 5 of us got the burrata, while I’ve had burrata in the past that oozed a little more, I preferred what was served here.  It stood up well to the butternut squash and leeks.  I also tasted what seemed like truffle salt on top of the burrata.  Excellent addition. 

My other dining companion got the oxtail minestrone – look at the size of those truffle slices!  

Our 5th at the table had the beef carpaccio, however it was dark in the restaurant and my camera did not want to focus so unfortunately I did not get a clear shot of her first course.   It must have been her seat, because her second course came out blurry as well, but to be respectful to the other guests I don’t like to use my flash at restaurants. 

For the second course, again three of us ordered the same thing – Tagliatelle with pancetta and a poached egg.  

The beauty shot – look how perfectly that egg is cooked.  Mixed together with the pasta it was essentially pasta carbonara with truffles. 

These were some of the most perfectly cooked scallops I’ve ever had, she also kept on getting the dishes with the giant slices of truffles.  Although personally I like them scattered about I feel like the flavor is more evenly distrubted. 

Finally for dessert there were two options a Black Truffle Budino or Carrot Black Truffle Cake.  I opted for the Carrot Cake, but we did have one person at the table get the budino. 

 I was a little unsure about having truffles in my dessert – at least the kind that aren’t chocolate! 

However, the dessert were not overly sweet and ended up pairing nicely with the truffles. I really enjoyed the carrot cake and the mascarpone crema was the perfectly accompaniment to the cake. 

Overall this was an excellent dinner and I can’t wait for next year!