Mia Dona
At Mia Dona, where waiters’ vertically pinstriped shirts cause each and every one of them to look like rogue castoffs of a 1940s a capella group, the Restaurant Week menu is such a surprisingly good bargain that it’s easy to ignore jarring visuals.
It doesn’t come as a surprise, really, since the casual Italian eatery’s co-owners are Anthos’ Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia. In fact, Midtown workers may finally have something over their cooler downtown counterparts during these frugal-friendly weeks. Since nearby Mia Dona’s day and night menus are identical right down to portion sizes, the $24 lunch is a particular steal—just over half what you’d typically pay.
To start, I chose baked tubetti in a red sauce flecked with basil. Standard, one might say. One would be wrong: Chef de cuisine Jason Hall infuses the sauce with chili flakes, giving each bite a subtle heat, and tops the neatly al dente tubes of made-on-the-premises pasta with smoky mozzarella. The dish was generously proportioned, and when my entrée arrived—I dined solo, better to overhear the Hamptons gossip of the diamond-encrusted ladies one table over—I melted a little, and willed my stomach to expand. A hefty slab of rosy-in-the-middle hanger steak had arrived drizzled with lemon-garlic sauce and loaded with a heap of peppery broccoli rabe. The steak was butterknife-tender and served atop a creamy, herb-flecked ricotta—an elegant twist on the most decadent cheeseburger one can imagine. A busboy kindly wrapped up half the portion for me, so I was able to make room for silky tiramisu—accompanied by an eye-opening globe of espresso gelato.
Unfortunately, a bit of brown cookie wrapper had wended its way into my dessert. I paused, spat it into my napkin disconsolately, eyeballed the remainder of my final course, and—blame the glass of a Super Tuscan I splurged on—tucked right back in to the rest.
And that, friends, is the cheapskate attitude that will serve you well during Restaurant Week. —Alex Van Buren
Mia Dona 206 E. 58th St. at 3rd Ave., 212-750-8170
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Rayuela
On an earlier visit to Rayuela, soon after they opened in June 2007, our table ordered plenty of seafood and fish dishes from the self-styled "freestyle Latino" menu. Having just set up shop, and certainly doing their best to justify hefty prices for the price- sensitive neighborhood, the service was predictably attentive and enthusiastic.
Fast-forward almost a year and the restaurant has now caught on with a primarily young, well-heeled clientle, who likely come for the crowd-pleasing cocktails but stay for the familiar pan-Latin menu. The ease I had securing a Restaurant Week reservation, and the fact that the dining room wasn't completely full, hint that Rayuela still has room to improve.
For a spot that's taken some hits for a wide-ranging menu that may reach too far, it's odd that there weren't more choices on the Restaurant Week prix-fixe. Those who don't eat fish might be disappointed by the remaining two entree options: chili relleno with lamb and pan-roasted liver. While I give props for the unique offerings, neither was quite the crowd-pleasing choice that a pork, beef or chicken option would have been. The sole fish entrée—striped bass with a generously portioned yucca cake, clams and mango-curry sauce—played up the restaurant's ability to meld diverse Latin ingredients to good effect.
All of the offerings were exclusive to RW, which often raises a second-class dishes for second-class diners flag. But in quality and portion size, they held up nicely. The sliced salmon in citrus sauce appetizer wouldn't satisfy Joey Chestnut, but it was on par with their standard ceviches. However, the two desserts—a tres leches de chocolate and a Latin cheese custard—were both dairy-heavy and could have used a third, lighter companion.
Overall the service was attentive and appropriate for a restaurant that could still use a few repeat customers as it finds its footing, although each course arrived right on the heels of the last and the bill appeared 30 seconds after our final bite of dessert. But if you enjoy clean Latin flavors, a trendy yet polished vibe and the feeling that a restaurant actually wants you to come back to sample the rest of their menu, Rayuela during Restaurant Week won’t disappoint. —Jeremy Cesarec
Rayuela 165 Allen St. between Stanton and Rivington Sts. 212-253-884
Photos: Sam Horine
