Thirty-Seven might not be a landmark birthday, but we think it should still be celebrated in style. Our dear friend, Jeff, asked Twinspirational to help plan an intimate dinner to celebrate his 37th birthday. We are excited to share the evening with you.
New Yorkers regularly dine out with friends, family and work. When planning a birthday dinner, we often select restaurants with a private room to make the evening more special. We hosted Jeff’s birthday at Asellina, an Italian restaurant located within The Gansevoort Park Hotel and part of The ONE Group Hospitality. The restaurant’s sleek contemporary design complements its traditional-meets-modern Italian cuisine. Asellina was named after the owner of an ancient Pompeian tavern operated by a “freewoman.” The restaurant’s private room features a large circular table that seats parties up to 15 guests. We decorated the table with a single bouquet of crimson ranunculus, black lilies, baby’s breath and large white pillar candles.
Asellina’s menu is perfect for family style dining. We highly recommend starting with an order of Mezze. We selected 10 Mezze for our large party, including:
Caponata (2) – eggplant, peppers, tomato, onion
Ricotta di Bufala (2) – black truffle oil
Pepperoncini (1) – fried shishito peppers, sea salt
Arancini (2) – fried risotto, mushroom, parmesan
Melanzana (2) – eggplant parmesan
Salsiccia e Pepperoni (1) – sausage & peppers
If you are ordering a lot of Mezze, we recommend sharing a few large plates. You’ll probably need a doggy bag, if everyone orders an individual entree. We shared:
Salmerino – arctic char, cauliflower, quinoa, garlic scapes, preserved
Polpette – gluten-free beef meatballs, tomato sugo, fresh ricotta, rosemary polenta, basil
Cavolo Misto – baby kale, roasted beets, crispy quinoa, fennel, pecorino romano, vinaigrette
Linguini Neri – squid ink pasta, maine lobster, shrimp, asparagus, campari tomatoes
Salsiccia Pizza – fennel sausage, smoked mozzarella, rapini, calabrian chili peppers
Burrata Pizza- heirloom tomatoes, arugula, shaved parmigiano
Tagliatelle Bolognese – beef & pork ragu, parmigiano reggiano, basil
Our favorites were the Burrata Pizza and Squid Ink Pasta.
And of course we ended our meal with some fabulous desserts.
Cioccolato – flourless chocolate cake, hazelnut mousse, brandied cherries, dark chocolate gelato
Tiramisu – ladyfingers, mascarpone, espresso, rum
Bomboloni – citrus ricotta donut, vanilla pastry cream, nutella, salted caramel, mixed berry purée
Panna Cotta – lavender, honey, vanilla, pineapple, blueberry
Gelati – vanilla / strawberry / salted caramel
Our favorite dessert was the chocolate cake, which came out with a birthday sparkler for Jeff. A close second was the donuts. Try both!
Jeff, we had a fabulous time planning and celebrating your birthday dinner. Special thanks to the amazing staff at Asellina for an incredible experience.
Don’t get all weird about getting older. Our age is merely the number of years the world has been enjoying us. – Anonymous.
Good dinning and memorable moments makes life eventful and worthwhile to reflect up on the past thanks for sharing your experiences
This post literally made me hungry! And fabulous clicks!!
The food looks delicious.. awesome clicks…
I hope when I turn 37 I have an incredible dinner party like this. The food looks so amazing and it's great to spend time with good friends.
Wow happy birthday Jeff! Asellina looks like the perfect place for an intimate, fun and tasty celebration! you captured the ambience and joy so well!
Happy Birthday, Jeff! What a fun birthday to document. It looks like he was surrounded by lots of fun loved ones and amazing food! I love the shot with the sparkler 🙂 Great images!
What a special 37th birthday this must have been with your impeccable planning. The Asellina venue looks like it was the perfect choice and the food looks delicious as well. Happy birthday Jeff!
I am starting to dread getting older, but then I remember I have more money for fancy birthdays like this! All the food looks amazing, especially the desserts!
Nice article