Lydia Shire. At quick mention, images of her distinctive red hair, plethora of restaurants and celebrity following come to mind. Take for example, Scampo, located at The Liberty Hotel. Now envision a sampling of not-so-traditional white pumpkin soup—a vegetarian dish made from a flavor-filled puree of onions, leeks, apple, garlic, white pumpkin, sherry, cream, butter, salt and pepper, topped with crème fraiche, mini marshmallows, fried elephant garlic chips, and fried sage and finished with drops of truffle oil. These are the special touches of love that go into Shire’s restaurants.
Better yet, if it’s Friday night, feast your eyes and palate on the Suckling Pig Al Forno fall special. If you come on a Saturday and miss it, do not pass up the addicting white clam and bacon pizza. The creative Italian-inspired menu crosses the borders with flavors from the Mediterranean to the Middle East. The restaurant itself is a modern masterpiece with copper lamps, exposed brick walls, a mozzarella bar and a tandoori oven. Start your dinner off right with a crispy flatbread pizza. The lobster is one of Shire’s specialties, but you can also choose from lamb, zucchini blossom with fennel pollen, burrata, roasted garlic and Spanish anchovy, or speck and honey bianco.
The fall dishes really shine here. The lobster risotto was deliciously filled with chunks of tender lobster meat, while the spaghetti Bolognese was a smaller portion that was quickly devoured between two guests. The declared winning dish of the evening was the decadently rich braised beef short rib, so tender and juicy, served with a bone marrow crust with black radish and black truffle. Be sure to save room for the limoncello cheesecake, a sweet yet tangy combination of lemon curd, tangerine-lime syrup and pomegranate sorbet.
