Mario Batali is famously known for his orange crocs, red hair and mind blowing Italian cooking. Did you know he also dabbles in Spanish tapas? That Batali Spanish love is actualized in his popular restaurant Casa Mono. Casa Mono has been around awhile so it’s not a new addition to the New York landscape but after many years, it’s still quite popular. I’ve only been for lunch once many years ago and quite enjoyed myself. I love love me some Spanish tapas.
I just finished a four day juice cleanse. Cookie Monster did a six-er. At the end of all that, we craved some good food….really good food. Cookie Monster’s never been to Casa Mono so I got us a reservation for lunch this past Sunday. Spanish tapas is a bit aggressive post cleanse but we live dangerously. 
Cookie Monster was careful and started with a frisee salad with manchego cheese….I call it boring but he liked it.
I started with the razor clams drenched in good olive oil and garlic.
Its name comes from the clam’s unique shape – they literally look like razor blades. Razor clams are heartier than your smaller standard versions since there’s more to them. You get more substance, more bite with these clams. They are just as sweet as their cousins but with more heft and taste of the ocean. I adore them. These were not tough at all and I became increasingly sad as they disappeared from my plate, one by one. I sopped up the garlic and briny infused olive oil with some pan con tomate (bread with garlic and tomato):
Pan con tomate is one of my favorite things to eat at a tapas joint. It’s so simple and very tasty. Crusty bread rubbed with garlic and topped with sweet tomatoes? Nothing better. Oh wait, there is…top it with some good Spanish ham and I am in heaven.
For main course, Cookie Monster got the dorada with clams in a broth made of oven roasted tomatoes and fennel pollen:
Nice crispy skin, flaky fish in a very bold sauce/broth that was very strongly of that licorice -y fennel. We were taking my potatoes and sopping up that sauce, we were taking the table bread and sopping up more…..sauce was good. Cookie Monster doesn’t do shellfish in restaurants so I got another helping of clams. yay me.
He also got a side of brussel sprouts:
I went slightly more decadent and got the duck egg with Iberico ham, truffles and fingerling potatoes.
Served:
….(food porn alert) and with the duck egg yolk runneth over:
Duck egg is uber decadent. It’s like a hen’s egg stepped up five notches. The yolk is super rich, thick and velvety. Slices of acorn fed fatty iberico ham bring the salty component to the dish and then you have the truffles adding that earthy essence and aroma. This is the best ham and eggs you’ll ever have. Thank you potatoes for bringing the starch. This is a breakfast for kings.
There is so much more I want to try on this menu: foie gras, bone marrow, the baby octopus cooked in their own ink, scallops served in their shells..the list goes on. The lunch menu is the same as the dinner menu and since lunch is less crowded, it is the best bet for anyone dying to try Casa Mono. We both agreed we would be back when our bodies had acclimated to heavier foods and our stomachs had stretched out a bit. What a great brunch and welcome back to the land of the eating (and chewing).
Casa Mono, 52 Irving Place, New York, NY
