Distracted by the name of Hotel Giraffe, I overlooked the wooden sign of Bread & Tulips and walked pass it. Located in the basement of the hotel, with friendly hosts leading you downstairs, Bread & Tulips proudly display their racks of wine bottles and with special emphasis on the flaming brick oven they have for pizza amidst the dimly candle lit interior.
Interior with a tulip at every table- If you visit their web site the story behind it is providing the essential (bread) and the ambiance (hence tulip!).
Meatballs -san marzano tomato sauce, fresh basil (from web site)- Standard meatball, very filling with cheesemelt on top, meatballs are substantial and flavored with Italian herbs, a bit on the salty side but delicious with the bread they provide on the side. The sauce actually has tomato bits in it; is it good? Yes but flavoring is not very unique.
Grilled Octopus- fingerling potatoes, padron peppers – (from web site) Was kinda disappointed grilled octopus is 3 small pieces. Before you even squeezed a bit of lemon, the dish is sour and a bit spicy already. Eating this dish just reminds me of how good Mercato’s grilled octopus was; it was thoroughly grilled, lightly seasoned, not sour.
Duck Sausage -potatoes, fresno peppers, cipollini, mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella – You could see the guy preparing the dough before he puts the pizza in the oven. Crust is thin like traditional Italian pizza, however sauce is just salty and too much topping made the crust soggy after ten minutes or so. The ingredients are good if you like your pizza meaty. The buffalo mozzarella doesn’t really melt.
Black Tagliatelle -squid, housemade chorizo, bread crumbs, salsa bianco- (from web site) There is two things I like before I had this dish- the flat and wide Tagliatelle and squid ink on it. When I went to Venice with my cousin, it was such an experience eating squid ink pasta, tasting the freshness of seafood and having the black ink staining your lips (not pretty, I guess that’s why we didn’t attract anybody). I was so disappointed when I got this dish to realize the black ink is part of the pasta but not a separate sauce; the sauce is sour and peppery which is very close to the taste of the octopus appetizer.
Bread and Tulips revolve around an interesting concept; I like the story behind it and I like the location which is in Flatiron and I like the friendly staff. However, in terms of food, it is mediocre at best. I think there is a lot of potential as the ingredients are fresh and the wine selection is huge, but it just needs to lighten its seasoning a bit to embrace the simplicity of authentic Italian cuisine and not covered it with too much spices.
nanansa 