Sunday, November 16, 2008

Centro Vinoteca

Centro Vinoteca is a triangular shaped restaurant located in West Village on 7th Ave. near Barrow St. I stood near the hostess stand waiting for my friend for just a few minutes and was already impressed with the menu, or at least the seasonal specials that were written on the chalkboard. We ended up ordering a bunch of the Italian small plates- or "piccolini"- to share. We ordered the parsnip and chestnut soup, silver dollar-sized sweet potato cakes and zuccini fritters.

The Sous-chef at Centro Vinoteca is native New Yorker Leah Cohen who is a contestant Top Chef Season 5. Once former head chef, Anne Burrell left Centro, Cohen has stepped up to the plate, and according to George Elkins- the managing director Mangia hospitality group, which owns Centro- "She’s done a remarkable job. She’s bringing new things to the table, and everything we’ve tasted has been, well, she’s just been hitting it out of the park.” (Source) And I'd have to agree with him on that one, I absolutely loved everything at Centro Vinoteca and the fact that they serve seasonal dishes means I might be able to make an exception and repeat the restaurant!