Summer came early to LACE w:st="on">New YorkLACE> this year.  The big apple began its three-month bake yesterday with temperatures in the mid-90s and a gentle breeze akin to a convection oven set to slow cook.  I met my friend Lee Anne Wong for dinner last night at one of the city's hottest new (about a year old) restaurants, A Voce, which is located on 26^th street and Madison Ave.   In fact, this restaurant is so hot that it received a 2007 Best New Restaurant nomination from the James Beard Foundation.

The evening started out with all the right signs when I pulled up to the restaurant and discovered a rock star parking spot on the street directly across from the restaurant (for those of you non-New Yorkers, legal street parking in New York City is almost unheard of).

The restaurant offered about 15 tables outside for Al Fresco dining.  After being cooped up in the office all day, I really liked the idea of sitting outside for dinner. I also really liked the idea of a drink, so I started with a most delicious Prosecco and pomegranate juice.

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Now, let me pause my story for a second to share a simple fact:  Lee Anne knows everyone in the culinary world.  So, it is no surprise to me that both the chef and the Maitre D' came over to greet and talk with us. 

Chef Andrew Carmellini is a pretty cool guy.  He too will be blogging soon for Wine Spectator.  Chef spent a lot of time talking to us.  He personally cooked a moist, tender, delicious pork chop for us… yummy!

Lee Anne and I are both adventurous eaters that love food.  So, we decided to order a series of family-style courses and experience a wide range of the menu.  We could not commit to any one bottle of wine, so we opted for a ½ bottle of Pinot Grigio  to start with.

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Our meal began with the Vegetable Antipasti consisting of three separate dishes:

• The most tender mozzarella di bufala (DOC) I have ever eaten.  While still a stretched cheese, it was so soft it neared the consistency of a ricotta;
• An eggplant agrodolce that resembled a perfectly seasoned eggplant tapanade, which we spread all over the rustic Italian bread; and
• A sweet pepper con capperi

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Served with the Antipasti, we also tried the spicy calamari salad.  Calamari is one of those foods that require skill to prepare properly.  There is a fine line between delicious and rubber and Chef Andrew's delicious calamari salad offered my palate a perfect balance of tenderness, acidity, spice and starch (with the beans and chick peas).

Lee Anne and I descended upon this appetizer so quickly that I forgot to photograph them, so I desperately tried to capture the last remnants of these courses for you, dear readers, before they were all gone.

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For our Second, we chose the white asparagus (from LACE w:st="on">OhioLACE>) with morels a la crema, proscutto and vin cotto and the Spaghetti all' Amatriciana with spicy tomato, homemade pancetta and pecorino cheese.

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The asparagus and morels were creamy and delicate.  We could detect a hint of thyme butter and toasted breadcrumbs on the mushrooms.  The Spaghetti was hearty with a hint of spiciness.

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Our third course featured meat and pasta.  We opted for a series of dishes and a new bottle of wine.  This time we wanted something red, so we chose a ½ bottle of Bordeaux.

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• Homemade potato gnocchi with lamb ragu and sheep's milk ricotta
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• Duck Agnolotti alla Veneziana with foie gras, sweet onions and aceto sauce
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• Country-style Tuscan Tripe with borlotti, tomato and fried duck egg
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I had never eaten tripe before.  While not opposed to it, I never felt compelled to taste it, until last night.  Properly prepared tripe is wonderful.  I especially enjoyed the fried duck egg's role in completing the sauce.

The gnocchi were soft, delicate, and delicious.  The bits of ground lamb and cream complemented the texture of the gnocchi to create a balanced consistency and mouth feel.

The duck agnolotti became my favorite of the three (partially because I happen to love duck and foie gras).  This dish was bold and delicate, hearty and lively (good acidity) and just fantastic.

After devouring our delicious delicacies, we looked at each other and Lee Anne spoke what we were both thinking…  "I could really go for some more meat.  How about the pork chop?"

So Chef went back into the kitchen and prepared us our  Piece de Resistance, a most phenomenal Heritage Farms pork chop with corona beans, local chard and cipollini agrodolce.

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And alas, it was time for dessert.  Chef brought us Italian donuts filled with crème and served with a black chocolate dipping sauce; hot strawberry rhubarb crumble with fresh crème; and a to-die-for lemoncello tiramisu.

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We finished dinner with a glass of grappa made from Pinot Noir grapes that came from Oregon.  We were full, drunk, and happy.  What better way to spend a warm evening in New York CityJ