il Buco - Italien Restaurant

Rating:




Name: il Buco
Location: 47 Bond St. (E. Village/NOHO)
Price: $212 for 3
Server: Michelle
Cuisine: Italien
Chef: Ignacio Mattos

il Buco came about because Myste was cruising the job listing section of craigslist, and clicked on one of the links in an ad. We called last minute and secured a reservation for 2 at 8:45. We were going to meet Salty Stephanie earlier at the bar to discuss salty things before dinner. Instead Stephanie forgot all about her salty bitches waiting for her, and was late. il Buco accomodated a 3rd person without delaying our dinner reservation for more than a few minutes - and it must be said, they were busy.

Since Myste and I sat at the bar for several hours, we're now intimately aquainted with the bartender, Eric - from Seattle. Clearly we love him already. He was inobtrusive, funny and attentive to all his guests. Myste's water glass was never empty, unlike our souls.

We were seated in the dining room, upstairs. The whole decor of il Buco is warm and cozy. It's a rustic country italien kitchen kind of feel, as if you could be in someone's kitchen waiting to eat. The tables are all wooden, several are set-up as family style. One party dines on the other end, and the other party is separated by large flower arrangements at the other end of a large table. The table settings were simple, one fork, one knife, cloth napkins. The music is low. Whatever they were playing sounded like it might fit well with the environment, but it was simply too quiet. We heard everyone else's conversation, and in a busy restaurant, that's freaking loud. Turn it up!

The server, Michele came by to take our order, and mentioned that the menu was seasonally created with fresh appetizers and entrees, and also features a standard season appetizer page with additional items. Michele came back from checking on my allergy requests and informed us one item could not be ordered, and helped us to choose another. It must be said, her pronunciation of all the italien dishes was spot on. Where-as we sounded like hicks from Arkansas trying to speak french. It weren't purdy.

Here's where we salty bitches look up from copying the menu down (not at all suspicously) and realize that every man who works here is fucking gorgeous. Seriously, it's like you've died and gone to calendar boy heaven, and they're all there to serve you. Brilliant.

After taking a gander at the quite extensive wine list, with, understandably, a HUGE italien wine sectionn, we settled on the Temperance Hill Pinot Noir. The wine list is, as noted, huge. It's also organized by region, rather than characteristic or varietal. For people who are not familiar with Italien wines, this could be overwhelming. We also noted that the wine list (and the by the glass list) didn't have much quality wines in the lower priced options. They mitigate this possible confusion by having one very knowledgable Sommalier on staff, Daniel. (and he's a calendar boy ladies. Check January).

Back on topic, we started with the housemade mozzarella buffala (is that how you spell that?). This was not one of the specials, but rather, one of the standard appetizer suggestions. It was a hot mess to look at:
but tasted divine. Creme fraiche, marjoram, lemon, mint and parsley combine to make a squishy, delicious mozzarella mess in your mouth. Smear on bread if you're daring. Their bread is thick crusted warm centered goodness. They serve it simply with stellar olive oil and sea salt. Side note: they offer olive oil tastings. Judging by their house olive oil, this sounds like a decadent delicious thing to do some day.

Next up was a special cauliflower appetizer. The cauliflower was raw, thinly sliced and served with shaved formeggian, shaved black truffle, and a host of other herbs we don't remember. What stands out about this was how light it was. Actually both the dishes, even the mozzarella were light and left you feeling hungry for more, not weighted down. And this is italien food folks! Too many italien restaurants leave you feeling like you ate 6 loafs of bread and a vat of pasta and then laid in your own sweat to die. Not il Buco.

For dinner, Salty Stephanie ordered the zucca salad which had roasted butternut squash with French arugula, Marcona almonds, pecorino romano and chestnut honey. Again, this yummy treat lives on the standard appetizer menu, so you can go and get yours. It was fresh, lightly dressed and delicious. It was not doused in vinegar and killed in balsamic. Go Ignacio!


Myste and I shared the Branzino fish special and the Rabbit special. The branzino (striped bass) was perfect. The Zolfino beans (some kinda white bean) were cooked perfectly - slightly al dente. The branzino was served with the magic beans, meyer lemon, and ligurian olives. Everything about this dish was proper. The fish was a tender medium rare, perfectly seasoned, skin on delight. The accompanying elements and the presentation were spot on. Stephanie kept stealing beans.

In fact, the only thing to stop Stephanie from stealing beans was the tarot reader. Yes you read that right, the tarot reader. This woman in (what else) a long black cape was wandering around and asking tables if they'd like their tarot read. "How did SHE get in here?" by one Salty Stephanie pretty much sums it up well.



Next Myste and I had the Rabbit special: dijon marinated rabbit loin, with housemade pork sausage, potato puree, parsley, and red onion. The rabbit was slightly overcooked and was kind of a rubbery rabbit, but the pork sausage was the best thing ever, so it saved the day. Seriously, the sausage tastes like a gingerbread cookie. How do you do that? The combination of food elements, again, was flawless.








Myste clearly liked the rabbit. This chef Ignacio is a man genius (and can be found on the calendar in the month of April).






For desert we had coffee, but only to stay alert enough for Daniel to escort us through their wine room. Downstairs is the wine cellar. It's slightly chilled, with high ceilings and a very gothic, albeit rustic theme. The wine is stored on it's side, and the temperature is of course climate controlled. The highlight is that you can make a reservation for the table in the cellar, or book a private event in this room. Next time we come we're going to have a lot of wine questions for Daniel, just to monopolize his time.

Bottomline: The food was brilliant, and although the rabbit wasn't perfect, everything else about this place is. The staff is knowledgeable (and hot), the wine list is wonderful, and the timing was excellent. Nothing was out of place, poorly plated, timed or other. We didn't have to ask for anything. And best of all, it's really reasonably priced. Go now, and go often.