Aurora
Swimster and his friends had just finished their first week of stressful job interviews, and as a sort of celebration, a big group of us decided to eat out Friday night. I threw a few names out there but quickly read between the lines- I would not be the one making the decision- so I opted to keep my trap shut.
One of Swimster's friends from Spain Guapo picked a place called Aurora in Brooklyn. I asked some friends at work and no one had heard of it. Swimster insisted Guapo is a real foodie and we could trust anywhere he picked. Sounded good to me, though I found it amusing I helplessly tried to encourage Swimster to cross the pond in search of Brooklyn joints, and in the end it took one of his buddies to rally him. Whatever it takes, right?
We met up with a few people right off the subway, then walked a few blocks to the restaurant (their adorable website had directions a five year old could follow so we were in business).
When we walked in I was pleasantly surprised by the space. I was quite taken by the dimly lit dining room, the really high ceilings, and the table we sat at. Our long wooden table felt like a picnic table, only we had chairs instead of benches. Off of the main dining room is their outdoor area, which during the winter, is covered and appeared like a kind of greenhouse, with glass windows around and overhead. If you choose to go to Aurora, you might ask to be seated out there, I'm sure there's a great view of the stars. The darkness and simplicity of the place gave it a very rustic feel, as though we were eating in the farmhouse of some Italian aficionado, not like we had just stepped off the noisy sidewalks of Brooklyn.
When I looked at the menu, I was very curious about their offerings. It wasn't split up in the appetizer, entree, dessert format. Instead it was appetizers, more appetizers, primi, and secondi, the way real Italians eat. I remember during a class trip to Italy all of us kids were so baffled the Italians ate spaghetti as an "appetizer," while we Italian-Americans made our pasta dishes so enormous there was no way we'd be eating a meat dish afterwards. Aurora's menu challenged me to re-think the way I ordered Italian food.
For my first dish I chose from the "more appetizers" the soft polenta with braised oxtail ragu. The polenta was soft, but not mushy, and had a few chunks, which I liked. And the plain polenta went very well with the more complicated oxtail, served in a very rich, thick sauce. Swimster ordered three dishes all together, and started with the risotto con aragosta , or creamy truffle scented risotto with poached half lobster and truffle foam. He was very generous with his tastes and I got to try it twice. The risotto was cooked just right and oozing in the lobster and truffle juices. For my second and final dish I chose off the specials the tagliatelle verdi con vitello e funghi, or homemade parsley tagliatelle with braised veal breast and mixed mushrooms (which Swimster ordered as his other primi). I really liked the way their pasta was cut. It was as if someone at the "box o' spaghetti" company had gotten drunk on the job and just cut pasta however he felt like. But at Aurora, the lax pasta cuts went very well with their "rustic" Italian edge. This pasta was cooked to perfection and the veal was tender and added a softness and salty kick to the pasta. Swimster had room for one more dish and his finale? The 10 hour slow roasted pork belly with white bean puree, sauteed broccoli rabe and caramelized apple. Just as good as it sounds. The lovely girl sitting next to me chose the maltagliati al ragu-roughly cut pasta with meat ragu and shaved parmesan, which was one of the dishes Guapo highly recommended. Apparently he had eaten at Aurora before and it pleased him so much he frequents the place. The roughly cut pasta is something Aurora does, and does well. All these dishes were exceptional and I couldn't put down my fork, which leads me to this dilemma...
The day, rather, morning after we ate at Aurora I was suffering from the worst case of - I had ever had in my life. I was in the fetal position in bed, in and out of the bathroom, for hours. I had to go so far as to call out sick for work, which I rarely ever do, on account of being... food poisoned? Food poisoning is something I have never really encountered, which is surprising with the frequency I eat out. It's a wonder this doesn't happen to me more often. But I have never been so miserable as I was that Saturday after eating at Aurora. Dr. Swimster said it was because I ate too many soft meats, and nothing of real substance. I didn't even know you could get food poisoning from beef, I always assumed you just got it from fishy seafood. Well I was wrong, dead wrong.
So I was going to give Aurora three apples, hands down, for the lovely dinner I had with friends. However, on account of the food that made me writhe with pain the next day (it lasted until 10pm), I can only bring myself to give it two. This is the first time I've run into this problem, of liking the food but getting - the next day. Should you go and try Aurora for yourself? Absolutely. Should you get exactly what I had and risk your own stomach being so sensitive? Absolutely not. Please, try Aurora, but even it out, will ya? Have a vegetarian dish, a pasta, then maybe some meat, not the double whammy meat combo like stupid Mona...
70 grand street (L train to Bedford Avenue), between Wythe and Kent Ave
718-388-5100
Brooklyn
One of Swimster's friends from Spain Guapo picked a place called Aurora in Brooklyn. I asked some friends at work and no one had heard of it. Swimster insisted Guapo is a real foodie and we could trust anywhere he picked. Sounded good to me, though I found it amusing I helplessly tried to encourage Swimster to cross the pond in search of Brooklyn joints, and in the end it took one of his buddies to rally him. Whatever it takes, right?
We met up with a few people right off the subway, then walked a few blocks to the restaurant (their adorable website had directions a five year old could follow so we were in business).
When we walked in I was pleasantly surprised by the space. I was quite taken by the dimly lit dining room, the really high ceilings, and the table we sat at. Our long wooden table felt like a picnic table, only we had chairs instead of benches. Off of the main dining room is their outdoor area, which during the winter, is covered and appeared like a kind of greenhouse, with glass windows around and overhead. If you choose to go to Aurora, you might ask to be seated out there, I'm sure there's a great view of the stars. The darkness and simplicity of the place gave it a very rustic feel, as though we were eating in the farmhouse of some Italian aficionado, not like we had just stepped off the noisy sidewalks of Brooklyn.
When I looked at the menu, I was very curious about their offerings. It wasn't split up in the appetizer, entree, dessert format. Instead it was appetizers, more appetizers, primi, and secondi, the way real Italians eat. I remember during a class trip to Italy all of us kids were so baffled the Italians ate spaghetti as an "appetizer," while we Italian-Americans made our pasta dishes so enormous there was no way we'd be eating a meat dish afterwards. Aurora's menu challenged me to re-think the way I ordered Italian food.
For my first dish I chose from the "more appetizers" the soft polenta with braised oxtail ragu. The polenta was soft, but not mushy, and had a few chunks, which I liked. And the plain polenta went very well with the more complicated oxtail, served in a very rich, thick sauce. Swimster ordered three dishes all together, and started with the risotto con aragosta , or creamy truffle scented risotto with poached half lobster and truffle foam. He was very generous with his tastes and I got to try it twice. The risotto was cooked just right and oozing in the lobster and truffle juices. For my second and final dish I chose off the specials the tagliatelle verdi con vitello e funghi, or homemade parsley tagliatelle with braised veal breast and mixed mushrooms (which Swimster ordered as his other primi). I really liked the way their pasta was cut. It was as if someone at the "box o' spaghetti" company had gotten drunk on the job and just cut pasta however he felt like. But at Aurora, the lax pasta cuts went very well with their "rustic" Italian edge. This pasta was cooked to perfection and the veal was tender and added a softness and salty kick to the pasta. Swimster had room for one more dish and his finale? The 10 hour slow roasted pork belly with white bean puree, sauteed broccoli rabe and caramelized apple. Just as good as it sounds. The lovely girl sitting next to me chose the maltagliati al ragu-roughly cut pasta with meat ragu and shaved parmesan, which was one of the dishes Guapo highly recommended. Apparently he had eaten at Aurora before and it pleased him so much he frequents the place. The roughly cut pasta is something Aurora does, and does well. All these dishes were exceptional and I couldn't put down my fork, which leads me to this dilemma...
The day, rather, morning after we ate at Aurora I was suffering from the worst case of - I had ever had in my life. I was in the fetal position in bed, in and out of the bathroom, for hours. I had to go so far as to call out sick for work, which I rarely ever do, on account of being... food poisoned? Food poisoning is something I have never really encountered, which is surprising with the frequency I eat out. It's a wonder this doesn't happen to me more often. But I have never been so miserable as I was that Saturday after eating at Aurora. Dr. Swimster said it was because I ate too many soft meats, and nothing of real substance. I didn't even know you could get food poisoning from beef, I always assumed you just got it from fishy seafood. Well I was wrong, dead wrong.
So I was going to give Aurora three apples, hands down, for the lovely dinner I had with friends. However, on account of the food that made me writhe with pain the next day (it lasted until 10pm), I can only bring myself to give it two. This is the first time I've run into this problem, of liking the food but getting - the next day. Should you go and try Aurora for yourself? Absolutely. Should you get exactly what I had and risk your own stomach being so sensitive? Absolutely not. Please, try Aurora, but even it out, will ya? Have a vegetarian dish, a pasta, then maybe some meat, not the double whammy meat combo like stupid Mona...
70 grand street (L train to Bedford Avenue), between Wythe and Kent Ave
718-388-5100
Brooklyn
posted by Mona at 9:40 PM
9 Comments:
Yowch. So sorry to hear about the meat meltdown. Oddly (some might say ironically) the first time I ever got Food Posining was barbecued ribs(!). Can u believe that?
I'm a compu spaz, btw, as you can tell since I've yet to solve the problem I was (am) having. Oy. Hope you feel better soon.
PS I originally missed the p in hope. Woulda changed the whole tone...
HAAAA!
and HAAA!!
No way, about the ribs.
No you di-ihn't about the p in hoe :)
Nice one.
Yes, feeling better, and that Friday was a week ago Friday.
Ooops.
too bad - hope you are feeling better.
Did you know that food poisioning can take up to 48 hours to kick in so it may not have been this particular meal that caused the problem. Did anyone else have problems? Did they eat the same thing as you? COuld it have been something else in the last 2 days?
I have had TERRIBLE (unmentionable) food poisoning twice in my life. The first time in italy when i was a strict vegetarian eating only pasta and courgettes. it still got me thhough.
The little old italian curator lady of our hotel made me fresh lemon juice with water and sugar to taste. like citron presse, it really helped.
Hope you are better soon
sam
Oh, not good.
I got food poisoning from ice cream once! Stink-ay. Ew.
Any time you get sick like that, you need to call your friends to take care of you.
Aunt Cookiecrumb's advice.
How bizarre Mona, I ate at Aurora's the night before you did! Sorry you had such a bad aftermath. Luckily, I did not have any tummy trouble (though I do admittedly have a stomach of cast-iron, it has been medically documented;-)). My friends and I LOVED the place, the food, the great wine they recommended when our choice was not available, everything. Sadly, I live in London and was just visiting my cousin in Williamsburg. BTW, if you get a chance, go to Snacky's on the same street at 187 Grand Street. It's a sake lounge that does great Asian small plates as well. Tell her Viv sent you!
Sam, Thanks for dropping by :) I had no idea that food poisoning can take up to 48 hours to kick in. I've never had it before so never had to really trackback my food. I don't think anyone else had problems, but nobody else ate the same things I did. That was the first time in a while I ate out so I can't imagine what else it could have been. My meals during the workweek consist of oatmeal, pb&j or turkey sandwiches, and snacks for dinner. Hmmm...I am fully open to the idea of having gotten it from something else.
I can't believe you were a vegetarian and still got it. My goodness. And that remedy straight from the Italian donna sounds wonderful. I might try that just for the heck of it this morning:)
CookieCrumb, from ice cream? My lord. These stories just keep getting better! Or worse, however you want to look at it. Funny a friend of mine told me to have a small cup of vanilla ice cream, it would make me feel better. Guessing you didn't use the same method...Thanks Auntie CookieCrumb!! Wanna hear something funny? Swimster took off to Atlantic City for the day ( I completely gave him permission) so I was fending for myself (and the toilet)!
Vivilicious, thanks for dropping by! I will have to check out your blog in a moment. So you live in London! That is fantastic! Swimster just got a job offer there for the summer, and we could possibly move there in a year. We should keep in touch! Small world you ate at Aurora...I can honestly say, I would love to go back with friends. It was such a cool place. And there's another place right on that street..Snackys? Sounds excellent, will have to try that one as well. Cheers! Happy Wednesday!
Lovely description Mona...but so sorry about the food poisoning! :( Coincidence, I am just recovering from a bout of exactly the same! Strange...I think I got it from something that may have been a wee bit spoiled (yes, idiot move on my part). First time I got it was from a bad mussel (more typical)...
Anyhoo, hope you are feeling better! :)
Chicajo, thanks for your well wishes. Wow, you too? Amazing..hope you're doing better as well.
Mussels, yes, that sounds like a more normal way to get food poisoning. Did you eat something out of your fridge that was on the cusp of being bad? Go on, we're all friends here, you can tell us:)
Paz, ha I thought it was cute, Guapo that is :)
I know, real bummer, though I would take people there and order different things, and I think I was the only one who got sick so it could have just been a one-time fluke.
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