Eat This: Raviolo al Uovo at Maialino

Maialino is the newest restaurant from Danny Meyer, located in the Gramercy Park Hotel, serving  Roman-style food. After a delicious lunch there during restaurant week, complete with the excellent service Meyer’s restaurants are known for, I knew I had to come here for brunch. When a special occasion arose (my birthday!), I pounced.

Cornetto at Maialino

The decor is Italian rustic with a nice bar area and plenty of tables. With our stomachs empty we decided to start with an appetizer of some pastries. We got the cornetto (glazed croissant) and the bombolini con crema (doughnuts with cream). Both were pretty fabulous, although I wish they had a regular croissant on the menu to tone down the sugar (the other choice is chocolate).

Bombolini at Maialino

Yummy cream filling in the bombolini at Maialino

For our entrees my husband had the Uova al Contadino, which is poached eggs on top of zucchini, corn, and pecorino.  It was light and tasty, but pretty simple–one of those dishes you feel like you can easily make at home.

Poached Eggs with Zuccini, Corn, and Pecornino

I had the Raviolo al Uovo which is one gigantic ravioli filled with egg yolk, ricotta, and sage. My husband and I have a running joke that whenever you order ravioli at a restaurant, the fancier the place is the fewer raviolis you will get. And yes, sometimes they are larger than usual, but it is still never enough to fill him up.

Raviolo al Uovo at Maialino

The runny yolky goodness inside the Raviolo al Uovo

Well, since this was only one ravioli, large as it was, it definitely takes the cake for smallest ravioli portion ever. Now, this is brunch, not dinner, so I didn’t need four of these babies. but at least two would have been nice, especially at $14. And especially because it was so tasty–I wanted more!

Sorbet and Gelato

Since we weren’t full we decided to get some sorbet and gelato for dessert, which was nice and refreshing.

I can’t help but compare Maialino to Locanda Verde: both upscale, gourmet Italian restaurants in NYC, and I must say, Locanda Verde definitely wins. While everything at Maialino was tasty and the service was excellent, for the price you definitely get more at Locanda Verde, plus nobody can beat their pastries!