Plum Pizzeria

The way things are going, the days of press dinners are few and far between.  Luckily, I was able to attend a spectacular press dinner at Plum Pizzeria.  The attendees were fantastic and I truly enjoyed the lively conversation and delicious food.  Two Greek guys who met while working at an Italian restaurant opened Plum last summer.  The name is an homage to the tomato, the ingredient that’s used in almost all dishes.  The restaurant occupies a large piece of real estate on 2^nd avenue between 9^th and 10^th street.  

The space is tastefully decorated and the music was enjoyable but not loud enough to be a distraction.  As soon as the food started arriving, I focused my attention on the table.  The Insalata Caprese was delightful.

Fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and roasted peppers topped with pesto and a sweet balsamic reduction.  This was actually the best caprese I’ve ever had.  I think the peppers and pesto are what made the difference.  I enjoyed every bite and could have had another plate.  Instead, it was time for pasta.  We started with Penne alla Vodka.

This tomato cream sauce is apparently typically mixed with applewood smoked Italian bacon, but of course my portion didn’t have any of that.  Our host was a bit disappointed when I told him to skip it in my plate.  He told me I’d be missing “the magic.”  It was still good without the bacon and IMHO your food should taste fabulous with or without the swine. I’m jus sayin.  This tasted quite good because of the scallions and the cream sauce was just right.  My favorite pasta dish was the Yellow Pumpkin Ravioli.

Ohhheeemmmgeeee! I wish I had a better photograph so you could really truly understand the deliciousness that I was able to indulge in.  Pumpkin is a favorite of mine. The ravioli was the perfect partner to showcase such a wonderful ingredient.  It got me thinking about the possibility of pumpkin gnocchi. I know I’m buggin but maybe someone will do it.  The ravioli was served with a  pistachio sauce that was topped with shallots.  Yup. I was into it.  We were also served Rigatoni alla Bolognese, but of course I skipped out.  Based on the comments from around the table, it’s probably worth trying.  They spend about 2 – 2 ½ hours making the sauce fresh every day and its chock full o’ vegetables.  Pretty soon after, our pizzas arrived.

The mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil was obviously my favorite.  Fresh ingredients and delicious crust.  It’s actually the amazing anti-gravity crust.

Yup, that’s right cheese doesn’t slide off and crust doesn’t cave when you pick it up.  Cool right?  Our meal ended with the Chocolate Mousse Cake.

This dessert is apparently hand selected daily from a culinary school.  It was chocolately goodness but certainly not the best dessert I’ve ever had.

Overall, Plum gets a solid recommendation from me. Their dishes are simple but very well made. It’s obvious that they use fresh ingredients and take care to make sure everything comes out exactly how it should.  I’ve been spending more time in the East Village these days so Plum can expect to see me again soon.

Hungry yet?