Bond 45

I like taking dates to the theater. I do. I feel at home, I have a lot to say (who can shut me up) and who knows--I may even appear charming. I think I even rush to find prospects "theater-date worthy." Ok, I know I do. Hey, I want to go to the theater, I want to be on dates (god knows)--so where do we eat?

Recently, Bond 45 has been my go-to spot for theater dates, even ones with my daughter, or my son and his fiancee. Bond 45 is Shelly Fireman's place (he of the solid, always a little better than you expect, places all over town: Fiorello's, Trattoria del Arte, Brooklyn Diner, Shelly's...), a wide-menu, grand cafe style, italian restaurant. Gael Greene used to kvell every time Shelly opened a new place.

The place occupies the old Bond Clothing Store (hence the name), with the famous Times Square sign, for those of a certain age--Men's Suits--2 Pair of Pants! It is one of those new restaurants that expertly feels like it's been there forever. I have always loved the old-New York, clubby kinds of places, and Bond 45 can transport you there with ease, especially if you get booth-lucky. On the main floor, upstairs, the lower ceiling and artfully chosen chandeliers envelop the booths in just that right clubby synergy.

But wait--the food is good. Really quite good. Now I am not partial to a creamy type of pesto on my pasta. I prefer the more traditional, olive oil and basil predominated pesto. But Bond 45 has made me a creamy-pesto believer. Danielle (my daughter) does like the creamy sort, so she prevailed upon me to sample hers--whoa, this is some real stuff! Obviously hearty, it is heavily pine nut inflected. Hold on, though--that doesn't always mean I abandon my beloved bolognese. I am on an almost constant search for solid, milanese-style bolognese. It is solid at Bond 45. It does not dazzle, neither does it achieve the full-textured nuttiness of a strictly, perhaps cream or bechamel-infused, traditional beef-veal-pork blend. But I like it. And the antipasto is killer. The artichokes al Giudea are delicious (the Jewish Way, a specialty in Rome that I first sampled on my first honeymoon (we can talk about that later)), as are the delicate asparagus, and pretty much everything I've sampled from the very impressive selections on view.

I eat more pasta as my main dish than anything else, but the veal here is no slouch either. Traditional costoletta, especially with arugula and tomato is just right. I will be trying (maybe I'll get back to you) more of their veal and beef entrees soon.

But I buried the lead. You see, on your way out, there are two baskets--one with light puff pastry dusted with powdered sugar, the other with break-apart chocolate toffee candies. They are there for you to glutton upon. Standing by those baskets on the way out is one of those things that I observe closely, in myself if not in others. How much to take? Is it important enough to offset my intense desire to indulge myself dearly--with the need to not appear a gluttonous trencherman? I'm not sure. I do go back after I eat my original handful--the question is simply will I go back more than once? I will leave that to your imagination.