Last night I met up with a girlfriend for dinner. We went to Sirio Ristorante, the newest addition to the Maccioni food empire at the Pierre Hotel. Sirio is named after Sirio Maccioni, who founded Le Cirque. I remember going to this restaurant location with Guiseppe when it was Le Caprice. At the time, the space was beautiful and art deco in style. It was like stepping back in time. When I met Carol last night, the place didn't change much although we both noticed it was a little more muted in the art deco appointments. The press release on the website describes the decor as something from Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" movie.
Carol and I drank Sirio's private label red wine which was a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and sangioveto, which is a clone of the sangiovese grape. (I have a question: why wouldn't Sirio use the term sanviogese instead of sangioveto? It's historically a synonym, but unused today.) It was youthful, medium bodied with flavors of strawberries, tart cherries and red plums. While I was sipping it, the flavor profile made me think of a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. This long finish was what made this wine different from a montepulciano. Carol even remarked about it.
Since the holidays got the better of both of us, we decided to have 2 appetizers for our dinner. I started out with the beef carpaccio, which was one of the signature dishes. Carol had the special tuna tartare with goat cheese. I thought that was an unusual combination and she said it was delightful and light.
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| Beef Carpaccio |
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| Tuna Tartare with goat cheese |
For the next course Carol had a duck confit, which was delicious, but very rich and filling. I ordered the seared sea scallops with truffles, mashed potatoes and caramelized onions. Not too rich, but cooked well enough that it was not chewy. The truffle, mashed potato combination with the onions all worked together.
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| duck confit |
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| sea scallops |
The crowd was clearly upscale and upper east side. Directly diagonal to us was Clive Davis dining with 3 other men. Lots of 'ladies' looking for work at the bar, older beautifully coiffed women in Chanel suits having dinner and speaking French. And there Carol and I were, talking about the beach, the holidays and when we will chase the next warm location. It was wonderful.
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