Happy Sunday! I hope you all have enjoyed the weekend as much as we have thus far! Our weekend has been a perfect combination of friends, amazing meals, and spending time together wandering the streets of New York City!

Friday night, after a delightful happy hour at Pipa in the Flatiron district, Bo and I found ourselves wandering through the neighborhood at 9pm in search of a dinner spot. This can be a recipe for disaster as seats are hard to come by in New York City restaurants on Friday nights. We happened to pop into Mario Batali’s Casa Mono, hoping we could add our name to their wait list. Much to our delight, they were able to seat us immediately at the corner bar.

Batali’s Spanish tapas style restaurant never ceases to amaze us with the impeccable service, delicious dishes, and reasonable prices.

We quickly ordered a glass of crisp white Spanish wine and placed our order as we were both starving. Unfortunately, you can’t just order as you go at Casa Mono. You must place your entire order at once which is a bit annoying since it is a tapas restaurant.  The complimentary olives and fresh bread were just the thing we needed to put our hunger at bay as we chatted and people watched.

We ordered five small plates including new to us items and a few of our favorites.

Scallops with Concord Grapes and Brussels: The scallops were cooked perfectly but neither of us thought this dish was worthy of ordering again. The grape flavor didn’t match very well and we were unfortunately very disappointed by this first dish.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Croquetas: We ordered these little bites after reading on both Zagat and Yelp that these were many people’s favorite small plate. We could have easily enjoyed two orders of these croquets as they were absolutely divine. The mild goat cheese paired perfectly with the crisp pumpkin.

Duck Breast with Butternut Squash and Maple Syrup This decadent and savory dish was my favorite of the night. The sweet maple syrup paired perfectly with the crisp savory duck breast and butternut squash is a side I never would have fathomed would pair so perfectly with the duck.

Skirt Steak with Onion Mermelada We have ordered this dish each of our four visits to Casa Mono. Tender to the bite, this skirt steak is a leaner meat dish than most of their dishes, but perfectly tender and crisp. The onion mermelada is unexpectedly sweet with a hint of relish spice.

 Setas with Garlic: These wild mushrooms were tender and bursting with rich garlic flavor.

We often forget to recommend Casa Mono to friends visiting New York City but after Friday night, it has quickly become forefront in our mind. If you’re looking for a perfect spot for an intimate dinner than Casa Mono is perfect.