Warm Mushroom Salad, YES!

Last night, Nate and I decided to make a quick jaunt to Asti for dinner and share a few things. We sat at the bar. There's something about being a regular somewhere and having that preference, I don't know what it is, but it feels more familiar and we're not there to lavish ourselves, necessarily, just grab a great meal before other plans. It's intimate, I guess, but we can get in and get out.

Our good friend, Joey Simeone waited on us and informed us of the specials which really stood out. We decided on a bowl of the special soup which was like a creamy potato bisque and in the center a cold sage custard. Wowee zowee, such awesome comfort food. The potato soup was just like you'd hope from your mom on a sick day, but the sage custard gave it this really surprising textural element. Delish. So we snacked that up real quick.

I was thrilled that they had added the beef carpaccio back onto the menu, which is an old favorite, but it has definitely been updated. Foremost, they are still doing the fried capers, but instead of the non-pareil size, they are much larger caper berries and the crunchy salty is probably one of my greatest weaknesses. Excellent choice. Also, instead of a swirled lemon aioli, the arugula salad atop the carpaccio is tossed in a nice lemon vinaigrette. Easy, fresh, delicious, and fills you up nicely.

However, all those splendid elements cannot hold a single candle to the specialty salad of the evening. OMFG, the warm mushroom salad with black truffle oil and an Alexander Farms' egg on top was a total oral-gasm. Crimini (I believe) and lobster mushrooms, and possibly Chanterelles, were tossed and I think sauteed with some, salt, garlic and the truffle oil and then a poached egg on top. It was almost too much, but we shared everything, kinda like a little appetizer sampler and it could not have been more perfect.

Most importantly, that amount of food with a beer each totals roughly $50 before tip. Really reasonable and the service is great, we have a lot of friends that work there and they are all excellent servers.

Asti is like our little neighborhood Italian destination, and frequently, we end up getting the old favorites, but this was a night of real exciting surprises, kudos to all, it was great to have such a stellar meal, if you haven't checked them out before, I highly suggest it.