aesthete, you sure seem to be using the word “melange” in a lot of reviews recently.
A lot of chefs be making melange type dishes bro
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The Spice must flow…
Don’t skip drinking!
I pop into Bestia pretty often just to drink! In fact I was there just last night drinking!
They make my favorite cocktail in the world, the Low Profile (ok, well, partly because it has mezcal and egg whites, my two favorite things in a cocktail, and partly because it is bright pink, which is my favorite color…but I still think it tastes pretty amazing regardless of my biases haha). It has elderflower as well. I have never had another cocktail that is so creamy/smokey/fruity…simultaneously very intense and very relaxing. HIghly recommended.
The Make My Day takes mezcal in a cleaner direction with china china, agave, and pineapple. Super pleasant drinking without losing the essence of the spirit.
And the Chef’s Old Fashioned has lardo bourbon… I don’t really old fashions that much honestly, but the lardo comes in to soothe the back palate on the finish in an exquisite manner. Superb for slow sipping.
And although their wine is marked up a lot, if you don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of wine prices you won’t be any the wiser, and can just enjoy drinking some very fun stuff =D
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Word up J man
I came across some photos from another meal I forgot to post about.
Started out with a chopped salad this time around that was really nice. I normally am not huge on chopped salads, but I recall it had a fantastic balance between veggies and meat as well as a lot of acidity from oil, vinegar and seasonings. There was also a lovely funk from a serious helping of cheese worked into it. Fantastic salad.
Their farro salad was even better though, really displaying the essence of farro that had been cooked just right and perfectly seasoned. The cream fraiche added a nice textural contrast and a slight tartness that was quite pleasing to the palate as well.
English peas came in a massive portion and grilled very simply with sea salt. They were completely delicious, showing off the fresh snappy essence of the peas, charred just a bit, and enhanced with the salt, yet not salty. Just a gorgeous dish that displayed why you need to order the simple grilled vegetable options, whatever it is, at Bestia.
Instead of ndjua I tried the salsa verde pizza that night. Still wonderful in all aspects. The salsa verde was a great compliment to their typical margherita pizza, but I would order other pizzas, I sort of got this just because it was new.
Pappardelle with pork, caraway, cabbage, and speck proved to be an outstanding pasta. Immensely viscous sauce coated the pasta perfectly and the light hints of caraway with the light astringency of the cabbage playing against the intensely porcine brine of the speck and heft of the pasta really worked beautifully.
Finished with a coconut tart and ice cream. It was quite pleasant with toasted coconut permeating an immensely buttery crust, and the ice cream offering a creamy counterpoint to the crunch and chew of the coconut tart A few blackberries also provided a tart component that worked nicely. Not mind-blowing, but a nice way to end a meal.
This was a really nice, enjoyable meal at Bestia that played more to the ways that they use vegetables. They may be known for meat, pizza and pasta, but they really make incredible use of vegetables as well, and that should not be ignored if one is dining there for the first time.
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Haven’t been to bestia in about 2 years. I’m going tomorrow, can’t wait to eat everything, lol!
Question for all the bestia lovers, should I get their pork chop? How does it compare with chi-spacca’s? Or am I better off just getting another pasta dish and appetizer etc?
i think so. it won’t be any better than Chi S. or Sotto’s, IMHO, whereas so many other things they do will be.
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i would get another pasta dish or 3 instead of the pork chop.
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Sure, I’m lways looking for more food adventurers =)
I wouldn’t overlook the margherita. It was one of the best I have had. And if they have that cauliflower dish, order it in a heartbeat. I would skip the rustichella, nothing wrong with it but sort of ordinary tasting and I think Republique has a better rendition.
And like @Aesthete said, the drinks are awesome.
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Just FYI that Cauliflower has been off for months. It is currently white corn. They rotate seasonal veggies in there. It was English peas just a bit ago. See my last post.
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Has anyone had the corn? Thoughts?
It is very new but I would trust it to be amazing based on my past experiences with their grilled veggies.
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I forgot…I also popped into Bestia and got just a couple of things…
Like duck pasta, mind-blowing awesomeness that showed off the funk of duck against the acid of pickled red cabbage. Never had a pasta like it before.
And I got an Nduja pizza because…uh…I was pretty crunk and craving it yo, I eat a lot of these… but it is like making love to your wife, different and beautiful every time.
Ohh and the donuts and coffee switched up to maple fritters with maple cream and huckleberry buttermilk ice cream… damn good still. I love huckleberry and the tart buttermilk component really makes it shine against the maple cream coating the hot little fritters bursting with warmth in your mouth.
MMMMMMMMM
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are you eating at the bar? are seats available around ~10p these days?
It varies, and also depends if you are alone or with another, but @ 10 PM I doubt you would have much of a wait for 2, on most nights - and, likely no wait as a solo.
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glad to report back that bestia is just as good as i remember. Got the cavatelli, bucatini, cucumber and plum salad, mussels, corn, and the chicken liver, plus the peaches and cream and the pannacotta dessert. Everything was delicious and has been covered in the thread.
Wanted to post a picture of the corn since its been discussed and is a seasonal dish. It was simply prepared with uni bottarga and chives I feel like they were trying to showcase the sweetness and freshness of the grilled corn. While it was good it was probably our least favorite dish of the evening as it was a bit salty and lacked contrasts in texture as a standalone and the sweetness of the corn didn’t come through until the mussels came and we got contrast a in flavors and textures between the soupy spiciness of the mussels and the crunch and sweetness from the corn. Got to sit at the chefs counter and watch them make salads and chatted with ori menashe(?sp) he was really friendly and welcoming and even hooked us up with a free dessert.
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