Mille Vine ... Crown Street Italian wine bar, restaurant

Ok, so the boys wanted a night out and one of us flatly refused to eat at The Winery (believe it or not it was not me!!). So Mille Vini was decided upon and all seven of us managed to find parking.  This place is full of atmosphere and a wide choice of Italian wines ... but this is a wine bar and the choice of wines by the glass is rather narrow with only 7 whites and 8 reds. 
Lots of entrees / appetisers .. the arancini had mushrooms in them and were,well ..bland.  The bruscetta was average, the grilled prawns were great (though anyone can do that on a bbq at home!!).  I ordered barramundi and it was served on a bed of tomato and eggplant .. bland , skin on , no salt or crunchiness to it.  Thought it was forgettable.  My friend's duck ragu pasta was nicely al dente but just not enough flavour.  One of the other guys had a sirloin with porcini and, well it was a lot of meat, beautifully cooked in that it was not overdone ...but again no flavour.  
WHAT IS IT WITH RESTAURANTS NOT SEASONING THEIR FOOD?  I think that a lot of "chefs" simply do not taste their food. 
Would I go there again? Yes ..nice place to have a meal with friends, and you can drink some nice Italian reds.

FRATELLI SOPRA SINKS at Danks St Waterloo

GOT THAT SINKING FEELING when I lose a place I like to eat at:
Went to Fratelli Sopra at Waterloo yesterday with a friend : we waited 20 minutes for a table, then another 15 before they brought the mineral water we ordered.  
After a while along came an Osso Buco that was missing, well ..everything ..from salt to gremolata to flavour. It was in a thin liquid ..served with some potatoes (4 or 5 little pieces) that were an afterthought (they had been cooked separately) ..what happened to Milanese Risotto with this dish?  Anyway maybe one can justify it by noting that this dish was about $24
.... same justification for the pasta that we ordered.. $22??? No flavour other than smashed peas and a few little pieces of sausage ..again no salt.  
When we asked for salt the waitress did everything other than get us salt .. took her 6 minutes (timed!!). 
Now this is all happening at 1:45 pm when the place is not even a quarter full so no excuse other than the staff are over it by this time...
Then the coffee was good other than it was burnt ...they use Vittoria Nero.

Salt ...pink or flaky or cheap???

Salt ... people have died for this ..Gandhi made it a point of political interest in his push for Indian independence ... now restaurants and shops make it a point of difference so that we pay inordinate amounts for a few grams ..of course it differentiates one's table from a commoner, especially if it is a different colour.  Now that flaky sea salt is everywhere we need to have it coloured so that we can show our friends that we spend big at our table.  
Sorry ... apologies.  I forgot, these special salts taste different.  I keep diffferent olive oils from different areas because they taste different.  When I put them on my rocket they still taste different.  If I mix them with vinegar the difference begins to disappear ..maybe even totally goes. 
In my pantry I have Maldon salt, Ravida sea salt, Sel de Guérande, supermarket rock salt and good old iodised cooking salt.  The expensive sea salts have a higher level of impurities such as magnesium and calcium and these impart a flavour, as they do in mineral water.  Another impurity is bacteria, which impart flavour and colour, especially the pink colour that appears when the salt gets humid and the bacteria are allowed to grow uncontrolled.  
When any of these salts are dissolved, as when used in cooking, for example in pasta water, one cannot tell the difference.  When you taste them directly and undissolved, say straight on to your rocket, you can tell the difference.
There you go...

Kohu Ice Cream ..new from New Zealand ...or make your own

As you can tell from my write up on Giolitti in Rome I love ice cream. I overdosed on Giolitti's gelati when I was in Rome last month, but especially the fruit flavours and more so their strawberry because in the heat of a Rome July this quenched my need for freshness. 
Last night I saw this new ice cream, Kohu, from New Zealand in the flash gourmet deli next to the sushi place, where I had dinner ...and I had a pang for dessert.  It was priced at over $18 per litre ...so it must be ok ...right? 
The best way to test an ice cream is to try the strawberry flavour because this is done brilliantly by good ice creameries, like Giolitti and so poorly by average makers.  When you buy chocolate or Hokey Pokey or some other strong flavour you are overwhelmed by the sweetness of the flavouring.  
I got home, opened the Kohu tub and ...well ...it was laced with strawberry syrup ...augh ....it tasted like some vanilla flavoured cheese with jam through it.  Yes, I said cheese.   And the texture was so wrong  ... ...maybe after that excellent sushi wiith fresh wasabi my tongue was confused and I decided to put it back in the freezer.
Next morning out it came, let it warm up... and still cheese with jammy syrup.  And again the texture was ...simply wrong.  Threw it out.

LEAVE THE KOHU ICE CREAM IN THE SUPERMARKET FREEZER. 

It is very easy to make ice cream, and you make it so it is healthy and does not need to have cream in it but tastes brilliant.... recipes coming up!!!!

Ok ..so where do you eat in New York?

I have a mole, EM we will call him, in New York and he is just as fussy about food as I am.  So I take his recommendations seriously.  Do I need to go and test them? No!! I just want to go the places he recommends to enjoy the food!!

Cafe Cortadito : this is a Cuban place at 210 East 3rd St., near Avenue B.
It gets a better rating from my mole, EM than Cafecito on Avenue C. The meals are made by a chef from El Salvador but nonetheless they keep to a Cuban inspired menu, which is simple with great starters like empanadas and chorizo and mains that include lots of grills done with different sauces ..try the red snapper fillet breaded in a green plantain crust.  
Now if any one has had an average meal here I want to know!!!