A fungus among us...

This next post starts off where our meal at Forcella left off - craving cocktails. We headed over to the lounge at Bond Street to leave behind the liquor woes of our eager-to-fry friends.

Bond Street did not disappoint - the vibe was great, crowd was very well put together and the music was worthy of Vanessa's iPhone (which is to say unpretentiously awesome). It was a great place to grab some drinks and better still, it's about a 30 second walk from my apartment - bonus! As the asian inspired cocktails and martinis were being passed around, the head chef of the upstairs Bond Street restaurant came by to say hello.

Our friends know the chef and he kindly took some time from behind the kitchen to exchange pleasantries. We tried our best to explain that our bellies were filled with the unholy, yet delicious offspring of Naples and a deep fat frier...but we must have failed. Within about 3 minutes an unassuming plate arrived at the bar.

The chef explained that this was a big eye tuna tart with a little something extra. I should have picked up on the smirk, or eagerness in his eyes as he proudly divulged a little tidbit of information about our "snack." Instead of the normal tart (kinda like a wafer thin cracker adorned with creamy ponzu, tuna and micro shiso), this version had over 5 grams of white truffles festively sprinkled across the top. 

Take this guy and add a lot of white truffle to it...

These white truffles, fresh from Piedmont (Italy), are valued at roughly $2000-$4500 per pound. So 5 grams worth adds about $60 to the regular $19 appetizer. Upon realizing what was just laid down in front of the group, we delicately placed the tarts in our mouths (understatement alert - I babied that thing like it was a faberge egg) and soaked in the good life. 

I know what you're thinking...really...is it really worth it? At Forcella, I made a snooty comment about a high-end Italian restaurant in the city charging $150 for a pasta dish with some white truffles shaved on top. I'd like to officially admit I'm a jerk.  If I said it was one of the singular best bites of food to ever enter my mouth, it still wouldn't do the flavor eruption that I was lucky enough to experience justice. It was that ridiculous.

The white truffle - don't judge a book by its cover

Thank you chef, thank you friends and thank you Vanessa. This was one of those supremely perfect and unexpected city moments that comes around every now and then. Its the kind of thing that makes you realize how lucky we all are to get a taste of special...even if it's just a bite. It's the experience that counts.