Mother’s Day Brunch at Ristorante Morini

This past Mother’s Day, I took my mom and the rest of my family to Ristorante Morini.

We planned to go to the Metropolitan Museum and see the new China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition. This exhibition is worth your time. To view the gorgeous, sumptuous gowns and the various ancient Chinese objet d’art that was once a household or personal item. It is a very visual, stimulating exhibition and it does inform the lay viewer how Chinese art inspires the Western fashion designers.

Going back to the food, Ristorante Morini is a few blocks away from the Met, which makes it a perk for us and the food we had was solidly tasty. Granted, we were dining on Mother’s Day so the mad crush of families eating out with the mothers of the group slightly deteriorates the finesse of the cooking but you will leave full.

We ordered from the Mother’s Day brunch prix fixe ($40). We started with appetizers of chilled Maine lobster salad, mozzarella di bufala, tomatoes, baby gem lettuce, basil and Big eye tuna crudo, nettle pesto, parsley root, fried capers, and pickled red onions.

The lobster salad was essentially disappointing bowl of crunchy Romaine leaves, slices of tomato with a sprinkling of buffalo mozzarella and lobster. The men in my family was wondering where was the rest of the lobster?

The crudo was excellent. A large, thinly pounded fresh tuna topped with fried capers and pickled red onions were the crucial yet minute flavors that makes a huge difference in the overall dish.

The main courses of seared Scottish salmon, grilled hanger steak and pan fried egg (from the regular brunch menu), and veal cutlet Milanese were not earth shattering but solidly good. Of the three, the salmon and hanger steak were better. The salmon was beautifully cooked and the bitter broccoli rabe gave it some depth and complexity. The steak and eggs are a classic pairing. The veal cutlet was tasty and it definitely filled me up but after having about half of this veal, my palate was getting tired of the same flavors.

For dessert we had the bomboloni, coppa and tiramisu. The bomboloni were delicious freshly fried, piping hot rounds of doughnut holes rolled in crunchy sugar. It was wonderful with the sweet-tart blackberry jam. My coppa, a sundae, of toasted meringue, strawberries, basil, strawberry sorbet, vanilla gelato and little cubes of pound cake was great. Bold flavors of spring and the various textures of creamy, crunchy and chewy made this cup interesting. The tiramisu was an elegant slice of cake. Moist chocolate cake and layered with espresso mousse; it was a feather light bite.

To view photos of this visit, please CLICK HERE for the full photo set or view the gallery below:

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Information:
Ristorante Morini
Website
1167 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Phone:(212) 249-0444