Extra Virgin

This was one of those great meals, that was totally unexpected. I went to dinner with Annie, and her brother Scott, to celebrate the end of a terrible week and we decided to go to a local restaurant that we had heard some great things about, Extra Virgin. Our cab dropped us off at the wrong street so we walked around the West Village and finally stumbled upon the adorable little restaurant. Nestled on West 4th sreet, there were a ton of several people outside 

To start I decided to drink something seasonal and opted for some sangria. I think they must top that sucked off with some champagne because it was bubbly and I was feeling it! We were seated relatively quickly and glanced over the menu and between the three of us we knew what we wanted, but as a rule of thumb we always ask the servers. 

Initially, we thought we would go for one of the following:

• Grilled atlantic salmon with cauliflower puree and aged balsamic
  
• Lemon crusted chilean sea bass with orzo tomato black olive salad
• Rare seared yellowfin tuna with herb whipped potatoes

So, when the waitress walked up, we were prepare to order these. Then she suggested the chicken. Wait, what? You are telling me to get the chicken? As a general rule of thumb, I just never order chicken, for no other reason than if I want chicken I will cook it myself. She promised us that it was worth it and also that we should get the prosciutto wrapped pork chops, which is something that we discussed, but weren't sure about it. So we ended up listening and ordered this:

• Fritto Misto - fried calamari, rock shrimp, calms, zucchini with a spicy tomato sauce
• Roast Parmesan Asparagus - poached egg, hollandaise, panchetta (pictured right)
• Mushrom Crusted Virgin Chicken - sweet pea risotto, cippiolini onions, truffle broth
• Proschuttio Wrapped Roast Loin of Pork - roast garlic parmesan whipped potatoes, broccolini, rosemary jus (pictured top left)
• Rare Seared Yellowfin Tuna - herb whipped potatoes, roasted artichokes, braised fennel, tomato caper vinaigrette, crispy onion
  

For starters we ate the fritto misto and roasted parmesan asparagus. For me the fritto miso was a miss. It was just your standard fried plate of food and honestly, I felt like I could have gotten that anywhere...just really wasn't doing anything for me...the asparagus however, now that was delicious. The bits of panchetta provided the perfect crispy, salty balance to the sweet egg and hollandaise sauce. 

Moving on to the entrees. We eat decide we would eat a couple of bits, and then rotate so that everyone as the table could have a sample. I started with the pork. The sweet jus and the salty prochuttio and the soft pork loin all melted together to create a delicious harmony in my mouth. I mean angels were singing, children were laughing, all was right. I then tried, the tuna...despite being the only thing on our originally intentions menu it was a bit of a let down. The tuna was a little bland for me, but not an epic loss, just not as good as the pork. Then I got the chicken. Again, I was not really looking forward to this, but since this was the last dish I was getting I had heard both Annie and Scott tell me how good it was, so I had some high expectations. They did not disappoint. I mean the mushrooms were crusted so tightly on that chicken it created a texture like the chicken had been fried. It was really incredible. The sweet pea risotto was outstanding as was the onions (can you really go wrong with roasted, sweet onions). By far this was my favorite entree, and one of the best chicken entrees I have had in a LONG time. 

I would definitely recommend Extra Virgin for a cool, laid-back night. It's definitely the kind of place where you could lose yourself for hours. Entrees ranged from $20-$30 and appetizers in the $10-$15 range and I would definitely, definitely order the chicken :)

Extra Virgin

259 W 4th Street

New York, NY 10011