Dinner at Hearth Restaurant tonight.

Click here for pix from a previous dinner a month ago.

Amuse bouche — cream of fava bean soup w/ lemon and rosemary

House of Savoy cocktail
Carpano Antico formula, Campari, orange juice, charred shallot

Salmon belly, salmon sashimi, heirloom tomatoes, roasted eggplant
2003 Pucher Haf Riesling

Bluefin toro, Greenmarket bean salad, fingerling potatoes, olive tapenade, pickled onions

House-made pappardelle w/ San Marzano tomatoes and baby shrimp

Broiled rouget, fresh shelling beans, Italian chicory, Sardinian bottarga
2004 Heinrich “Red”

Lamb, three ways
left to right: lamb breast, lamb loin, lamb sausage (w/ baby zucchini), zucchini puree, roasted chantrelles

Pre-dessert amuse: watermelon granita, creme fraiche, candied pine nuts

Plum tart, mint ice cream, candied lavender
Shou Mei tea

Out of 10? How about an 11?

Hearth is one of my favorite restaurants in New York City. Its not four-star cuisine and more to the point, it doesn’t have to be. Chef Canora’s food is extremely accessible and is prepared with devotion, passion and utter joy. It shows. It takes a lot for me to rank a restaurant above an 8 or even a 9. I’ve been coming to Hearth for the past two years and tonight was my seventh or eighth time there. The depth of consistency on each visit is nothing short of amazing.

Hearth is located at 403 East 12th Street (corner 1st Avenue), in the East Village.