Then came the appetizers we had ordered: tender pan-fried Korean meat dumplings, a seafood pancake stuffed mostly with slightly overcooked calamari, and fried battered chicken (kan-poon-gi) that lost all crunch (and appeal) under its spicy sauce.
The prime rib, a huge, thick chunk called a Dakota cut (at a decent price of $19.95), was cooked pink as ordered, tender and full of flavor, and served with a tangy horseradish cream.
My favorite steak is the unadorned prime sirloin - broiled exactly to order, incredibly tender and intensely beefy.
Cooked medium-rare to our order, fresh, tender calf's liver arrived in an almost black balsamic sauce, a perfect astringent counterpoint to the richness of the liver.
Other Da Nico attractions include the generous order of tender baked clams and main courses from the rotisserie, like the moist chicken, crisp on the outside and flavored with rosemary.
Other attractions include the generous order of tender baked clams topped with a crust of bread crumbs, ravioli stuffed with porcini mushrooms and ricotta cheese, and main courses from the rotisserie. 5. Isola + (212) 362-7485 Columbus Avenueenear near 83rd Street Manhattan $ All major cards Isola offers foods of the Italian islands, from Sicily to Venice.
Also on the appetizer list is calamari fritti ($5.50 half order, $6.95 full), tender and deep-fried, not too oily, better with fresh lemon than the accompanying marinara sauce, which was rather dull.
The succulent half-chicken ($8.50) that I ordered, so tender it was falling from the bone, is served with French fries and salad, or rice and beans.
The diner who ordered the tender veal scaloppine bathed in a soothing white wine-Gorgonzola sauce ate every morsel, mopping up the delicious sauce with the rustic bread.
My companion, who has a rather unadventurous palate, ordered the tender tikka chicken, a classic Indian dish marinated in salt, pepper, chili peppers and fresh lime juice, then baked in a tandoor oven.
