Dinner at Miranda's Restaurant, Brooklyn, New York

Went to Miranda's on Berry Street in Brooklyn, on a spur-of-the-moment dinner with a friend. The décor was great, warm and friendly, and although we showed up around 6:00 PM on a Friday without a reservation, we got seated right away at a table by the window. Table was small, especially in comparison to the silverware, which was very large and heavy. So far, so good!

Opening the menu the first thing that intrigued me was the cheese selection. I had never been to a restaurant before that offered such an array of rare and different cheeses. We ordered a plate of two for an appetizer, which quickly arrived with a spoon of fig spread and thinly sliced apples. The apples were a perfect addition to the cheese. Our selections were the Mandeville, and the Robiola Tre Latti. The Robiola Tre Latti I found to be quite unmemorable, it had the texture of soft cream cheese but did not compliment as much as the other. It was made of a mixture of cow, sheep, and goat's milk in Piemonte, Italy. I fell in love with our other cheese selection, the Mandeville, which was a cheese variety made from cow's milk in Minno, Portugal. It had a gentle sharpness, but nothing near something like cheddar. We practically licked the plate clean.

For dinner, I went with the Media Ravioli. It took longer than expected to receive our entrees, but it was well worth it. I was served hand-made ravioli set in a single layer on the plate. Filled with wild mushrooms and ricotta, it was topped with white truffle oil, and was definitely up there as some of the best ravioli I had ever had. My partner-in-crime had ordered the Grilled Orata, which came with organic quinoa, charred corn, and watermelon pico de gallo. The fish was cooked perfectly.

We went basic on the dessert and ordered the chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. The cake was very heavy and thick, but made up for it as it was not too sweet or rich....and nothing says I've had a fantastic dinner like chocolate cake and ice cream.

The entire time we were constantly fed three different types of bread including pull-apart focaccia and wheat on a regular basis to dip in olive oil and a tomato paste. Yum! We were not bothered or encouraged to leave when we were done eating, and were there for about an hour and a half. Found out later this place was Zagat Rated 2010, and it was clear why.

While this place definitely isn't for everyday, the prices are reasonable for the service and quality of the food. I absolutely intend to take anyone here who would like to join me!

www.mirandarestaurant.com