Nello New York

After what seemed to be a never ending first semester, the Moldo's embarked on a journey to the 'Big Apple' for the first week of winter break.  Since we were no rookies to the city, we attempted to avoid the tourist activites such as visiting Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and taking a stroll down 5th Avenue mid-day. Instead, while my extended family, who were visiting New York for the first time, went to the tourist hotspots, my family went shopping and dined at many elegant restaurants. While a majority of the meals were top-notch, there was one restaurant which clearly stood at the top of the todem pole, the one and only, Nello. Located on Madison Ave, between 62nd and 63rd, a celebrity hangout known as Nello offers some of the finest Italian food I have ever had the opportunity of tasting. Walking into the restaurant, there is a man present to greet the guests and make them feel comfortable before they are seated at their table. I felt like I was at home from the instant I walked through the doors, and this greatly impacted my mood even before I had a bite. To give even more of an impression like this is an original Italian restaurant, the waiters are Italian, and my brother enjoys attempting to communicate with them, even though he is a bit rusty on his Italian. Now, the most important part of the meal, the food. I began with a steak carpaccio which was drizzled with lemon juice and topped with an arugula salad. The salad was simple yet perfection, and the carpaccio melted in my mouth. To make the dish even better, it was finished with a few shredded pieces of fresh parmesan cheese. I mean, boy was I in heaven at the time. The only downside to my appetizer was that it was a bit filling, and I was hesitant to eat my entrée, only until I had the first bite. My entrée was a simple truffle risotto which was cooked with shrimp, mussels, and clams. After my first bite, I was brought into a zen mode, and everything felt so right at the time.  The fresh truffle combined with the rich taste of the risotto was indescribable. I was so full after licking the plate of its flavor, but I knew I always had room for dessert. While we ordered three desserts, I devoted much of my attention to the one-of-a-kind panna cotta. I mean talk about melting in your mouth, the panna cotta was sweet, but not to sweet, and provided a perfect conclusion to an unforgettable dining experience. A meal at Nello is not one that slips off the mind of a person, no, it is an experience that one never forgets. From the second a person enters the restaurant, to the end when the waiters kindly shout "grazie", it is an adventure unlike any other.