Best. Perk. Ever.

Dinner at Del Posto...for free. (Not that I didn't pay for it in another way.) It was a promotional special highlighting the Maremma region of Tuscany, and featuring a guest chef from a highly acclaimed hotel in Maremma call Il Pellicano. I would really love to say something interesting and insightful about the experience - because it was a really great one - but the dinner featured regional wine pairings with each course. Five gigantic glasses of wine. By the time we were done with the second dessert, I really wanted to put my head on the table but Del Posto is a little fancy for that. It wasn't a pretty picture. While waiting for J-Cat to get a cab, I really really needed to sit down so I went ahead and sat down. On the sidewalk. I had the consideration to walk around the corner so I wouldn't be sitting there like a bum right in front of the restaurant, but how was I to know that I was sitting there like a bum right next to the kitchen door that Mario Batali goes in?

Anyway, needless to say, I'm really inarticulate today, so I'm just going to give a quick rundown of what we got to eat, because I want to be sure to remember it for posterity.

The meal was a five course tasting menu, but really it was six courses because the amuse bouche was huge:

Amuse bouche: Polenta with shaved white truffles
Antipasti: Bacala Cake with two types of mussels and potato puree
Pasta: Veal tortelli with cream sauce
Entree: Braised veal cheeks over polenta
Dessert 1: Mascarpone with espresso granita
Dessert 2: Semifreddo with strawberry soup, rosemary, balsamic syrup and madeleines

It was all really fantastic, though the pasta was not surprisingly the standout dish. I wish I remembered the more detailed descriptions of the dishes from the menu but I don't. I also wish I remembered the wines we drank, but there were too many to remember. They were all from Maremma, that's all I really know. The first was a delicious white, slightly sweet, very floral and with a hint of pear. The next four were reds. In giant glasses. I was lost already by then...