Elletaria Is Yummy, Mario-Batali-Approved

I was walking my dog Thursday night when I ran into my friend and neighbor Mario Batali on Eighth Street who was just coming from dinner with his son Leo. He told me that he'd just had a fantastic meal in our neighborhood at a new restaurant on Eighth Street called Elettaria (right near MacDougal). In case you were wondering, Elettaria is a type of cardamom seed, which makes sense, as the chef Akhtar Nawab serves up the most amazing Indian inspired fusion cuisine. (like the most aromatic foie gras Ive ever had and a divine cumin scented bavette) And how excited we should be to have such a great addition to our nabe. I trust Mario implicitly (he's my favorite chef in the world!) and so I called immediately, reserved a table for dinner and he was right. This place is really, really great with a kind of cozy atmosphere and cute, nice staff. It's hip (but not trendy), and you can watch Akhtar cooking super, amazingly delicious food in his open kitchen while his partner Noel runs around trying to keep the packed spot on track. It only opened two weeks ago but word is travelling fast and now it's kind of hard to get a table unless it's at 11 at night. But trust me (and Mario) -- this place is really, really good.

Photo from Eater