"Truffles are diamonds from the earth" West Village Restaurant

Restaurant Critique
Oak Tuscan Truffle Lounge
28 Greenwich Avenue
New York, NY
Pamela Goldman
Photos: Gerald Feldman
Patch.com

If you have a highly gourmet palate and a special yen for truffles,
Oak Tuscan Truffle Lounge in Greenwich village will satisfy you
to your heart’s content and then some. “Truffles are the diamonds
of the earth,” says Rudy Accornero, the owner and Chef of Oak Tuscan
Truffle Lounge. He is proud to note that his restaurant is the only
one in the USA to serve truffles in every course from appetizer
through dessert.

Rudy gets shipments of truffles 2-3 days a week. He says they have a
shelf life of about 8 days and stores them in a food locker at 38 degrees.
Truffle devotees will say that they bolster your immune system
and stimulate the sex-drive. Precious ad rare, Rudy’s truffles in
particular are sniffed out by dogs, mainly poodles. When you enter
the restaurant the scent of this delicacy permeates the air. It is not
for the faint of heart but rather those with gusto and either the
born or acquired taste of this wonder.

Documented as being desirable through history as far back as ancient
Greece, Plutarch is known to have thought that truffles are the creation
of lightening, warmth, and water in the soil. In the late 1700’s truffles
were rediscovered in France. Although a culinary secret that only the
peasants enjoyed for centuries, food connoisseur Brillat Savarin (1825)
noted that truffles became so expensive, that they only appeared
at the dinner tables of noblemen or kept women.

The dream team of Rudy and his partner Svetlana Voloshyna are both
truffle afficionados. They combine their efforts and chic taste to create
a superb restaurant, an import-export business and their own line of
purchasable truffle-infused products.

The restaurant is stunningly romantic. A small space seating between
14-16 people at once, the very same room, a century ago, had once
been a “horse hallway” The brick walls are painted black and from the
very high ceiling hangs an enormously grand chandelier in the center of the
space. This combination is what some would refer to as “high-low” art.
Down to earth and ‘over the top’ elegance in one room creates a crazy-
beautiful sensation. On an extremely fine sound system, crooners like
Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin sound like they are singing to you live.

Warm truffle bread on the table, my partner and I started by splitting
the Lobster Salad. Created with the ingredients of fresh Maine lobster,
arugula, baby peaches, pine nuts and avocado, the salad was dressed
in their signature Oak dressing of secret ingredients. The dressing
complimented and didn’t over power the delicacy of the lobster and baby
peaches. It was a no-brainer...we ate every last drop. Oh and those pine
nuts..perfect earthiness through and through.

For our main course we ordered the specials of the day. My
partner had Capasante Scotta which was seared jumbo scallops over
a puree of wild vegetables served with rainbow carrots and a truffle
balsamic reduction. I ordered the Ossobuco alla Milanese which was
veal on the bone, slow cooked with vegetables, served with a
Barbaresco wine reduction over saffron infused risotto. This marvelous
and hearty dish is one of Chef Rudy’s personal favorites.
The truffle waiter came around offering us as many shavings as we liked.
Just sitting there, tasting this dish, I felt like I had won the grand prize
of the NYC culinary world. I couldn’t stop smiling!

We shared dessert and it was plentiful. We had Cannolis filled with
chocolate mousse infused with truffle flavoring, served on a platter with fresh
berries, some whole and some macerated. Espresso only but it was an
excellent ending to a night of a gourmand’s dreams. This is a perfect outing
for those who have the refined taste for truffles in fact it is a must! Bravo!!