My Panna Cotta Year 🍮
And where to eat with a group in NYC.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, we celebrate turning another year older, which was actually happening gradually throughout the year, but my concept of time is fuzzy. Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.
Focaccia & Ricotta at Emporio
231 Mott St, New York, NY 10012
This year I decided to not have any big plans for my birthday. My friend, who is also an introvert/ambivert, suggested I just catch up with people over dinner instead, since eating out is my favorite thing. Anyways, that’s how I ended up having four dinner plans and a small party, and learning that I only have two dinner appropriate outfits. (I only ever wear workout clothes, just in case I want to spontaneously go upside down.) Also, I learned that it is VERY VERY hard to book a dinner reservation for a group, even on a weeknight. This is what happens when you socialize once a year, you have to learn all your lessons the hard way. So I ended up at Emporio on my birthday, not because it’s my favorite restaurant, but because it's the Default Birthday Place for my dance group because somehow you can always book a reservation. Emporio is perfectly nice enough, a little fancy but not too $$$, slightly scene-y but has ample seating, which makes a great crowd pleaser. The key to the menu is to skip the entrees and order ample starters and pizzas, which are the best parts. The portion sizes for the starters are pretty good, and there are some surprise hits, like this plainly named “Focaccia & Ricotta” which sounded boring, but was in fact spectacular. When I read “ricotta” I expected the grainy kind in a tub from Shoprite but it was so creamy and delicious, I ate every last bit off the plate. (The focaccia is fine.)
Panna cotta at Emporio
231 Mott St, New York, NY 10012
I don’t think I’ve ever had panna cotta before this week and I don’t know why not?? It’s very good! Is panna cotta making a comeback or something? I just feel like I never noticed it on the menu before. You know how I feel about non-frozen foods that remind me of ice cream: Extremely positive. It’s totally possible that Emporio’s panna cotta is merely mediocre, but due to my inexperience I perceived it as very good. However, their tiramisu is quite good and I know a thing or two about tiramisu, so probably the panna cotta was good as well.
Domokase at DOMODOMO
231 Mott St, New York, NY 10012
My sister came to town this week! (Not for me, lol, but I’ll happily take the incidental.) This was very exciting because I got to try a new sushi place that’s been on my list for a while, DOMODOMO (all caps necessary). It’s a trendy place on Houston, but the main reason I really wanted to go was that I read a review describing it as like two tiers above Seamless sushi and two tiers below spending-all-your-money sushi which is the right special treat ballpark for me. It’s actually very rare to find restaurants that are kinda nice but not too nice, and they are my favorite kind. We splurged on the DOMOKASE, which is a full set meal including dessert, a full nigiri plate, several apps, and a hot main for $102. That might sound like a splurge for a dinner out, but it’s quite a steal for sushi, and it was also a ton of food. I would say it cost more than a normal dinner I would eat but it was also more food than I’d normally order. In fact, next time I’ll just go directly for the $49 Sushi & Hand Roll course. All the little apps and small plates before the sushi arrived were sort of misses for us, including an egg custard starter that was oddly gloopy and truffle-y. But, the sushi and hand roll were solid and my craving for a Fancy Little Feast was fulfilled.
Miso black cod at DOMODOMO
140 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012
Oh man. I feel like miso cod was all over the menu for a while because there was that super expensive place in LA that served it. Also, miso broiled fish is a very solid dish that should be on all menus. (Sidenote: It’s very easy to make at home, and you can find a recipe for miso broiled fish in the archives, because I cannot for the life of me as the search function on Substack is awful). The miso black cod at DOMODOMO was spectacular, very savory-sweet, and unlike several of the small plates that came before it, the sweetness wasn’t overwhelming or sickly. I would come back and just get some hand rolls and split a miso black cod.
Black sesame panna cotta at DOMODOMO
140 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012
This was the panna cotta that put panna cotta on the map for me. The waiter at DOMODOMO said it was the most popular dessert, and I can see why. There are some perfectly round crispy rice bits on top and a very, very smooth and creamy black sesame custard below. The whole thing comes in a very cute, rustic-looking ceramic dish. Please don’t confuse this with the hojicha pudding, which also comes in a cute-looking ceramic dish, albeit 1.5x larger. The hojicha pudding is like a bigger, more watered down, and way less good version of the black sesame panna cotta, which I was not allowed to take home, for fear that it would not travel well.
Have a good weekend,
Soph
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