Went to Celeste on 84th and Amsterdam last month w/ Carolyn!! YAAAAAAY to Carolyn moving back from Espagna (I hadn't seen her in like 5-6 yrs!), and yay to Celeste. Jun took me here a while ago and ever since our office relocated uptown I pretty much go here as much as I can.
Italian gets thrown around here a lot so it's great I get to practice (sorta, when I'm not too meek or caught up to start tossing phrases out here and there). The ownder is a lean faced man with bony features, longer hair...an affable man that I guess goes to the fishmarket all the time so much that the Sushi chefs know him (just not by name!).
I only recently got into mussles--this is a basic garlic and white wine sauce but the quality of the mussels are amazing (which makes the owner's little stories believable, and endearing vs. some ridiculous braggadoccio BS!) It has a tinge of sweetness, succulent, well seasoned but lightly seasoned so u really just get...the quintessence of the mussels in what you're slopping around in ur mouth as opposed to stuff that sits in the yummy broth you're sucking down.
I had the Homemade Papardelle Special which is reminiscent of their old Shrimp Papardelle (which now comes with cabbage, goat cheese, and i forget what else). CLOSE UP!!...
But this incarnation has scallops, asparagus, and a light tomato marinara sauce. The pasta really is something to experience (well, the paparedelle anyway) b/c u can more plainly feel the different texture of hand-made/rolled/whatever pasta versus the shit u just pop in and boil at most restaurants.
Carolyn got the Butter-sage cheese ravioli that Julia's gotten too. It was def tasty and the sage was strong but pleasantly so b/c i feel like i don't get to really enjoy sage in a lot of things, and not as a focal point. (pumpkin ravioli @ fig & olive still def rocks my socks!!)
The thing I like about Celeste better than Pisticci's is that Celeste has more distinctive and rustic flavors, a little more pungent in comparison--but I mean the two are so restrained in their seasoning and composition, everything works together well and stand on their own. It's simple, and clean--just Celeste is a little more hearty, but...Pisticci's has so many different and refreshing ideas in their dishes! It's like talking about 2 very diff things joined by an effortless composition of tastes and fantastic ingredients!
...i like to finish my plate :D
Wanted to go for small plates/meze like at Kefi but options were limited and I was hungry--I ordered the Fig & Olive Mediterranean Tasting which comprised of grilled chicken with chorizo, tomatoes, chickpeas, oregano, pimienton, black olives/ grilled lamb on rosemary skewers, bell peppers, Greek yogurt & honey, couscous salad with figs/ grilled shrimp on oregano skewers, risoo, tomato, Pimenton Olive Oil.
I have to say that the shrimp was perfectly cooked, the embodiment of succulent. The sides that came with the meats were all really good--the risotto was great but the couscous salad was freakin' AWESOME with the Greek yogurt & honey. Shrimp. Seriously.
Lamb too. Chicken was good but I was really surprised by the shrimp & lamb. I'm picky with shrimp. meh to lamb. you look now!...
Def would want to come back to try the other pastas and the small plates. ANYWAY...decor was cute, price was a little overpriced but I also had some wine to wash down my grumpiness.
I had the cream cheese creme brulee--so light! just sweet enough, the figs were great b/c they weren't candied like in the meals--I've never had so many figs in my life and I say...me likes. Rosemary infused...creme brulee maybe? The wafer was just the right crunchiness and texture to the fluff. I'd go back just for the cream cheese creme brulee alone.
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