We reported earlier that Mia Dona is one of the restaurants that has extended Restaurant Week through February 27^th, so we headed over to our favorite Italian neighborhood spot for dinner this past Monday night.  Mia Dona, brought to us by restaurateur Donatella Arpaia and chef Michael Psilakis, is our go-to spot for amazing Italian in our neighborhood of midtown east (located at 206 East 58^th btw 2^nd and 3^rd).  It has always tended to be more of a splurge night out rather than a budget dinner choice for us, but we figured out that it doesn’t have to be (even when the Feb. 27^th Restaurant Week extension is over). We remember reading this Bruni NYT article back in December (that our ATL friend Elyssa forwarded to us) about how Bruni spent less than $100 on 3-course dinners for two at 5 great restaurants over a 5-night period (inlcuding tax and tip, but excluding alcohol). What we took away from this article (besides a strong desire to try The Redhead in E. Village) is the idea that high-end restaurants can either be as expensive or as reasonable as a diner makes them. We’ve found that by carefully steering our way through a menu, especially the small plates and appetizers section, we can come away from a great restaurant plenty full after having tried many of the best offerings… and with some money still in our pocket.  Mia Dona is a case-in-point.

Andy and I were dining with family, Donna, Stacey, and little Zoe, so we wanted to try a lot of different dishes and not stick to the Restaurant Week selections (although the RW menu did look great- 4 choices of appetizers including the meatballs and the orecchiette, 4 choices of entrees including the butternut squash tortelli and grilled branzino, and 4 choices of desserts including the tiramisu and maple panna cotta gelato).  We did take advantage of the RW wine, a nice bottle of Italian red for $35- Rosso di Toscana, caparzo, montalcino, Italy ($8 by the glass).  In the end, we realized that if you put your mind to it, you can walk away from Mia Dona without paying a fortune for an excellent dinner.

I chose an appetizer for my main course- the grilled octopus with fingerling potatoes, olives, feta, and anchovy vinaigrette for $14.  I had ordered this dish before and was really craving it (well that and the gnudi but I was trying not to overindulge after a ridiculous weekend of eating).  As somewhat of a 2^nd course, I ordered my favorite side- roasted brussels sprouts, pecorino, and pancetta for $10.  The brussels sprouts are so good… a very generous portion of sprouts and a ton of pancetta.  The savory, smoky goodness would be quite hard to find in any other vegetable dish.  So, my food total (minus the bites I took from everyone else’s plates) amounted to $24 pre-tax/tip.  Not so bad for a satisfying Mia Dona dinner.

Andy chose a bit of a pasta tasting dinner.  He first started off with the mia meatballs with tomato, onion, and parmesan for $9- hearty, classic, and gone as soon as they arrived.  Instead of choosing one large pasta, he went with two small portions.  Mia Dona has two sizes (and two prices) for all their pasta dishes, so this is a nice option if you don’t want a massive plate of pasta, want some variety and also want to save some cash.  He ordered a small plate of the gnudi with mushrooms, crispy prosciutto, and truffle butter (our absolute favorite menu item) for $12.  He also ordered a small plate of the pappardelle bolognese with veal, speck, and parmesan for $11.  His “pasta tasting” with an appetizer came to $32 pre-tax/tip.

We both saved some money over the Restaurant Week dinner price while still enjoying our favorite dishes.  We also took advantage of the $35 RW wine option (they have a white choice as well).  Being that we’re not that into dessert, this was surely the way to go.  We also have to comment on the great service- thanks to the Mia Dona crew for squeezing us in with a stroller for niece Zoe!  And for a last comment on Mia Dona… pitchers of PBR for $9… oh yeah, and they have a daily happy hour special b/t 5:00-7:00pm where you can get 2-for-1 beers and mixed drinks…need we say more?

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