While Commerce still has me raving over their felicitous assortment of breads, Bread in Tribeca was a definite letdown in the baked goods department. Upon seating my dinner date and I were offered the choice of either a salted doughy pretzel stick or a dainty raisin roll. Now mind you, the choice between savory and sweet is an easy one for me, but for some reason the prospect of sweet, juicy raisin embedded in a chewy crust held greater appeal for me that night. Much to my dismay, I could taste neither the sweetness nor the consistency of the dough because the bread I was served with tonged ceremony was stale. When I brought this to the bread server’s attention, it was shrugged off with a perfunctory apology and no replacement offers. Not one who is prone to give up that easily, I requested a pretzel. This consituted only a slight improvement in that the salt better masks the lack of freshness. 

On to the actual meal: My date and I ordered pear and rucola salads. The greens were fresh and the lemon dressing was done right. No complaints to issue there.

Moving on to the entree’, the ricotta and spinach ravioli
With Nut-Brown Butter and Almonds & Amaretti (somehow I was craving sweets that night) would have been ok, if they hadn’t drowned it in huge shreds of an overly-aged substitute of Parmigiano Reggiano. The cheese absorbed all of the moisture and crowded out all of the other flavors.  The home made saffron linguine with rock shrimp that my date ordered would have been a better choice.

As for dessert – it was another tease. Our server rattled off six different dessert options, and my date and had both unwittingly settled on the Italian cheese cake with pear. When we ordered it though, our server winced and told us only after the fact that it was the only dessert they were out of. It would have been useful to know that information before hand.

I settled on an espresso and a mediocre pannacotta and resolution not to recommend this place to others.

It’s an O.K. choice if you’re in the neighborhood and can’t get a table at Pepolino’s.Otherwise, it’s overpriced for the food quality. Service is well-meaning but undertrained. Interior decor is industrial design. Outdoor seating is pleasant.

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