On Sunday, Danielle was a woman on a mission. We both read The Journal News’s review of Velo, and she told me what she wanted:
“The goat cheese tartlet and the risotto.”
Here’s what we discovered about Velo: It’s the latest “bistro & wine bar” to hit the area (like “fusion”, this “wine bar” thing is exploding in popularity), the dining room is understatedly decorated with bicycling art, and the food is really, really good.
(I knew I was going to like Velo when I read that owner/chef Anthony DeVanzo is an avid cyclist and spotted an old, black and white Tour de France photograph on the wall. That appealed to my cycling nut side, spawned in 1988 after I first saw Breaking Away and started riding around in bike shorts with Mendelssohn’s “Italian Symphony” racing through my head).
I should note that Danielle and I were talking so much at dinner that I completely blew it on snapping pics of the dining room (being a conscientious blogger takes some practice).
One other note: our server was fantastic. He managed to be friendly and helpful (especially when it came to the wine list), without being overbearing or God forbid, doing something insane like crouching down to eye level to take our order. Don’t you just HATE when servers do that?
For an appetizer we shared what else, the goat cheese tartlet.
Oh, to eat this every day… Flaky, buttery crust— check. Creamy goat cheese— check. Drizzled honey sauce and fresh thyme for that savory zing— double check. I’m betting Velo can’t make these tartlets fast enough to satisfy its hungry customers.
Danielle gave me a bite of her chianti risotto with black truffle. It was super creamy and luxurious.
Here’s my cioppino with clams, mussels, scallops, arctic char and a giant prawn:
You could have just given me a pile of bread, and I would have happily dunked it in the broth all night long. The seafood was fresh and sweet, but as Danielle noted, “That’s not going to be enough food for you.” She was right. She knows my human garbage disposal tendencies.
Our dessert was the cardamom spiced twisty donut served with crème anglaise and wild berry compote.
That’s a fancy way of saying “Donut with scrumptious dipping sauces.”
Velo’s got it going on. Maybe I’ll get a chance to meet Chef DeVanzo one of these days and we can talk bikes and food. And then I’ll swipe a goat cheese tartlet when he’s not looking.
GRADE: A-
Velo Bistro Wine Bar
12 N. Broadway
Nyack, NY 10960
845-353-7667
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Tags: nyack, velo bistro, wine bar