We were concerning about timing and getting up to NY on a winter weekend, so decided to eat right across the plaza from the Met(before the opera Porgy & Bess) at LINCOLN, which opened ages ago, but just never crossed my mind as a pre-opera dining option. The place is elegant and cozy with booths and tables on the left and right and a large bar and open kitchen in the center(you can hear the chefs calling the orders!). The glass walls at the front overlook the Vivian Beaumont Theater and side of the Met Opera House while on the other side you see the Julliard School.
Delicious spicy peppery breadsticks arrived first and then a superb amuse of Crab, compressed cucumber and pickled onion. The menu is quite simple and the lowest options starts at $79 for an appetizer and main course, or pasta and main, or appetizer and pasta. They keep it simple and quite pricey, but the service was impeccable and food excellent.
I ordered a bottle of white which they were out of and settled on a Campania white Ischia Bianco Casa d'Ambra "Frassitelli" 2018 Biancolella which is indeed from the small island of Ischia and was quite creamy and delicious. It was ideal with my starter of Insalata di Astice, a salad loaded with chunks of Maine lobster, little blobs of creamy Robiola cheese, blood orange and Castelfranco(a delicious variety of radicchio). Will had the Lumache(pasta) con guazzetto di polpo which was a ragu of braised octopus, tomato, fennel and oregano with Pecorino di sardo. It was tasty, but I think he wanted chunks of fish rather than a sauce.
The mains were absolutely juicy and divine with Will having the Pollo Arosto, pan roasted chicken breast with caramelized Salsify, housemade chicken sausage, white polenta and sage chicken jus. My Costolette di Maiale was a superbly cooked pan roasted Berkshire pork chop with Corona beans and broccoli di Ciccio as well as a pesto made from the same broccoli.
Trying to diet and being quite full(the portions are indeed quite large) we simply asked for coffee but then got treated to a complimentary Lemon sorbet with poached raspberries that was light, divine and refreshing. The coffee came with even more little mignardises, but alas they had a lot of mint in the filling, so a small bite was all I needed.
Expensive yes, but easy, convenient and you won't be late for a Lincoln Center performance for sure!
