Bar Madonna — Restaurant in New York

My partner and I had the most EPIC dining experience here last night. For drinks we started with the Piña Pazza and the Apollonia. Both were so tasty but the Apollonia had us both addicted and we reordered it multiple times. Love love love the super fine orange zest rim! Please leave this cocktail on the menu indefinitely.

For food we started with the oysters and they were fireeee! The giardiniera mignonette really complimented the oysters without masking the flavor. Next we had the Oxtail Croquettes and I thought I was going to lose it. They’re almost too good. I thought about getting another order of them but we already had more food coming. Next up we got the Grilled Baby Romaine salad. It was my partner’s idea to order this and I could’ve gone either way, but once I took a bite I was like WHAT! How is a salad this good?! The tomato confit, wild boar bacon and whatever the dressing is really make this salad so delicious. The fries were perfect but OMG the truffle aioli ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Possibly my favorite aioli I’ve ever had.

For our mains I had the Crispy Chicken Agrodolce and my partner had the Herb Crusted Lamb Chops. I am not super into lamb chops normally but these were cooked perfectly and the salsa romesco and horseradish were chefs kiss. The chicken sandwich is a must order. My suggestion is to ask for extra truffle aioli and dip the sandwich in it. The flavors of the sandwich are so good on their own but I want to dip absolutely everything into that aioli.

We finished with the cannoli trio for dessert. I love that each cannoli has a different flavor and that they're not overly sweet.

The service here is amazing. Thank you so much Ricky for taking care of us all night. You’re a gem! Rob was really wonderful and personable as well. The host was very welcoming and there was a very vivacious server, Matt, who was very fun to chat with and brought such good energy to the space.

The aesthetics of the place are beautiful - the color they painted the outside of the restaurant is gorgeous, the massive hanging lights at the bar are so dope, and the bathrooms are my favorite (weird thing to say but they’re stunning). The plates are really cool and a unique, personal touch. Also, playlist was on point!

Overall we had a phenomenal experience and we’ll definitely be back to order everything again… and...

This week, @barmadonnabk celebrated its first year in business. I was lucky enough to visit them back in December and get a taste of what they had to offer. I'm positive that we'll be seeing @barmadonnabk on the top 50 bars list in the future for sure. With @rickylreyna behind the stick, the drinks are all bangers. Fun fact @rickylreyna was the bartender @overstory who told me to post my cocktails because "that shits cool." I'll forever be grateful for that. Here's what I had:

Limoncello Milk Punch: Of course, I was going to start my drink journey with the most experimental drink on the menu. This drink reminds me of a less sour lemon head. Fruit lemon flavor but way more rounded and subtle. With Gin Tequila and lemoncello, things could get messy, but the shiso keeps everyone on the same page.

Mela Tini: Fennel goes very well with green apple. I love green apples, and I love Calvados. This cocktail takes all those things and makes them an elegant refreshing mix. This is a drink that you could sip at night with Tony Bennett playing in the background or crush on a summer afternoon on the patio.

68th and Harrow: Cocchi Americano and Cranberry (in small doses) work together to create an outstanding flavor mashup. The Grey Goose provides the proof, and the soda gives you the sparkling feeling.

Walk and Talk: Think of an Amerreto sour but less sweet, richer, and stronger. This is one of those drinks it's best to take your time and really peel through all the layers. Slightly nutty and mysterious.

So, at this point, I left and went to two other bars and had at least five other drinks. Then I made my way back to @barmadonnabk. Let me know if you can tell.

Jimmy Figs: Rye, sherry, fig, hojicha, soda, and pathfinder meet up to coat your mouth in this umami sweetness. I'm glad I stumbled back...

Had a great dinner last night at Bar Madonna. We kept it pretty simple with the oxtail croquettes, honey wings & the romaine salad. All 3 were excellent and worth ordering, especially the oxtail. For the mains, we did a couple of the smashed meatball parts which were awesome. It’s definitely One of the best sandwiches I’ve had in recent memory. I always order fried chicken sandwiches everywhere I go, and I didn’t love this one. It’s pretty good, but after the meatball parm and oxtail were so flavorful, the chicken wasn’t quite what I was expecting. the French fries are well seasoned, crispy and absolutely delicious, make sure you get them. We had a bottle of red from piedmont which was good and I tried the sparkling pet nat white which I enjoyed as well. The staff is very friendly and welcoming and I emailed them that morning to add one person to my party and they were able to accommodate me, which I really appreciated. It’s a great looking space, attractive crowd and the music is at a nice level to still be able to talk and have a fun time. I’m really looking forward to...