Restaurant Review: All'onda

Jeremy and I had a lovely Valentine's Day dinner at a new place, All'onda. I had high expectations because this spot had a lot of buzz when it opened, considering it is the product of the chef from Ai Fiori and Morimoto and the former partner of Michael White, and it mostly delivered.

We chose this place that night because they did not have a pre fixe menu, as many high end restaurants do on the big day of love. This way, we were able to properly explore the menu.

We started with some drinks, me with red wine and Jeremy with the 697 cocktail - bourbon, honey, bitters, and amaro rinse. Both were fine, exactly what we wanted and exactly what we expected.

To start, we went with the crostino with monkfish liver, persimmon, and caramelized onion. It came on two pieces, one side had the liver consistency you would expect, and the other side was in the form of pate with the jellied persimmon on top. The livery side was SO fishy, it was overwhelming and we were not into it. However, the other pate-ish side was better. The sweetness of the persimmon balanced it out and the "pate" was not nearly as fishy.

Crostino

Next we had the Bucatini pasta - by far the best dish of the night. With homemade pasta, smoked uni (smoked in house) was a main ingredient in the sauce and pieces were throughout the dish which was topped with spicy bread crumbs. This Eatr article is what intrigued me, and thank god because this dish is where it's AT. A must order if you go.

Bucatini

And finally, for our entree, we went for the short rib for two. An unusual move by us, considering we always aim to try the maximum amount of dishes our stomachs and wallets will allow, but Jeremy saw another table with it and he was hooked. This dish is MASSIVE. We were served two huge pieces of short rib, stacked up against each other, on top of a tomato mostarda (basically a yummy roasted tomato spread). In a separate dish, we were served a saffron risotto. The short rib had some pros and cons. 

I will start with CONS: not the tender, fall off the bone texture I was expecting of short rib and very fatty (I had to cut away large pieces of fat throughout the piece). 

PROS: While not cooked how I expected, it was cooked to the perfect temperature and had a beautiful pink inside. After cutting away the fat, the meat was extremely flavorful and the outside was exceptionally seasoned.

The risotto was amazing upon first bite - so rich and creamy. However, after a couple more bites, you start to realize that the reason this so amazing is because you must be eating a bowl of butter and cheese and it starts to be a little TOO rich. 

Short Rib

While we didn't have the perfect meal food wise, I enjoyed the atmosphere and service, and my company was decent as well. The food was good enough to keep me intrigued and I would definitely go back for the Bucatini and to try a few more things.