Odd Things

Boy, I really put my foot in my mouth this time. Well, not my foot. A pig's foot.

I ordered the Ragu of Odd Things at Commerce, the new restaurant occupying the former space of Grange Hall and Blue Mill on the wonderfully winding Commerce Street in the West Village. A traditional saucy ragout on orecchiette pasta that tasted like your average beef short ribs but actually consisted of oxtail, tripe (yes, stomach lining) and "trotters" (pig's feet). Most certainly odd, and delicious.

I paired it with a salad of 20 herbs with shaved manchego and a lemon vinaigrette, plus a tasting of every type of bread in the basket, from olive muffin to pretzel. Delicious.

After a Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley (which I hope to visit within the next year) and the Santa Julia Torrontes, I was ready to see the Albee show at the Cherry Lane Theater. Not even tempted by dessert.

And although my dish didn't arrive with a big cloven foot in the middle of my bowl, I was glad I was adventurous enough to order it.