Category Archives: Italian

Maialino’s “Roman Ramen”

I’ll preface this little write-up by noting that I only came here to try this brilliantly conceived mash-up of Japanese and Italian – a fusion that was best made in Super Mario Bros. – only this time it was in the food world rather than the video game world. For a limited time Maialino was serving what they called Roman Ramen at the bar. I heard about it here. Now it’s gone! You’re all too late. I tried to warn you on FB.

Okay, so Maialino’s “Roman Ramen” uses farro noodles in a pork broth, with a thick slice of porchetta, black pepper oil, some shaved greens, and, of course, a soft-boiled egg to achieve the most perfect ramen fusion dish one could possibly imagine. Everything just fits well. The noodles reminded me a little bit of the rye style noodles from Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop. They had a nice bite and texture to them. The pork maybe could have been braised better, as there was a slight bit of chew to it, but I didn’t mind so much because the flavor was really outstanding. It was distinctly Italian in flavor but Japanese in delivery. Another ingredient suggestion would be some kind of fungus. Like the Japanese, Italians are quite fond of mushrooms (remember – they are all over Super Mario Bros.): So perhaps some thin sliced raw baby bellas or julienne cut cooked portobellos would fit nicely in this bowl. At only $10 it’s a good deal too. The black pepper oil really sets this bowl apart from the others. I need to locate this stuff ASAP because I can no longer live without it.

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Year 2: pork was more thinly sliced, which I ended up liking even better, as it reminded me of prosciutto. Broth was a little more substantial and deep in flavor. Mo’ betta greens, like arugula and some herbs. Still no mushrooms, and this time was a little lighter on the pepper oil (I was a little bummed about that but it was still fucking great).

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I washed this bitch down with some Italian brew too – pretty good:

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As a side note, the regular menu for this place looked incredible. I’ll definitely be back.

On a second trip, my wife and I came for the lunch price fix menu. For $35 you get any app, any prime or second item for  your entree, and biscotti.

For the apps, we chose fried artichokes and the octopus with beans. Both were excellent. The artichokes were crispy and lemony, and the octopus was charred nicely. I’ve had softer octo before, but this was definitely still good.

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For the entrees, my wife went with the malfatti, which is a broad pasta noodle that was served in a lemony brown butter sauce with suckling pig. This was great. The pasta was perfectly cooked al dente and the pig was tender and flavorful.

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Of course I chose the roasted sirloin for my dish. It was cooked perfectly to medium rare, and it still had a great charred crust on the edges. It was served with onions and potatoes: classic.

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I also had to try the cavatelli with escarole and beans. Cavatelli is my favorite pasta, and escarole and beans is one of my favorite classical Italian peasant dishes. They did a great job here. It really reminded me of my mother’s cooking.

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I sopped a lot of the nice juices up with the delicious table breads:

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The only down side to the meal was the slowness in service. They were really busy, so it took very long to get each course. And they also nearly forgot to bring out the biscotti until I reminded them.

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I’m generally not a huge fan of biscotti, or really any Italian cookies for that matter, but the flat, soft gingerbread cookie underneath was really delicious.

Not a bad bill for all we were able to try:

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And in a really nice ambiance at that. I love the restaurant. It feels rustic yet elegant all at the same time.

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UPDATE 6/5/17

THE BURGER IS BACK! Maialino is once again serving up their special burger, available at the bar from 12-2pm, and then from 10:30pm to close. It’s a delicious patty topped with gorgonzola and crispy pancetta, sitting on a rosemary brioche bun with lettuce and onion. Absurdly good.

MAIALINO
Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10010

Nino’s Tuscany

Nino’s Tuscany overall score: 68

EDIT: This place is now CLOSED!

This place grabbed my attention when I saw the meat in their window as I walked by.

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The “Italian Steakhouse” concept has been picking up momentum lately, with places like Costata, Quality Italian and Il Mulino Prime developing lots of buzz. I had to try it. Plus is it just down the street from our apartment.

Flavor: 5
My steak was a little bit on the bland side unfortunately. It was cooked perfectly, and my compliments to the chef for a wonderful sear, but I think it was under-seasoned and just didn’t have some of the oomph that some other places nearby have. It was served on a hot plate that smelled deliciously of butter.

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Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 6
The cuts in the window looked fantastic, so I will have to be kind in this section, despite my steak being a bit gristled and fatty. I love a good rib eye that has soft, jelly-like fat, but my cut was laced with some of the more tough to eat ribbons of fat. A shame too, because it was indeed cooked so beautifully. They do offer all the basic steak cuts though: porterhouse, strip, filet and rib eye.

Portion Size & Plating: 8
Portions here are just right. Not too much, not too little. You’ll go home full, and the plating is simple and basic, clean, neat, and without pretense.

Price: 5
I felt that the price was a bit high given the fact that my steak was not up to snuff. At $52 I expect near perfection. My wife’s chicken dish was fairly priced, however, as were the rest of the items we ordered. We stayed away from the appetizers though, as they seemed a little steep as well.

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Bar: 7
This joint has a very cool bar area. With brick arches and columns to split it away from the main dining areas, you feel like you are in a cozy neighborhood spot. There’s also live music near the main entrance and bar area too, so it makes for a nice place to have a drink.

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Specials and Other Meats: 8
There were no specials read to us, but as far as other meats go, they did offer an ossobuco dish, and various veal, chicken and lamb preparations: a solid showing. My wife had Cornish Hen, which was really nice. Crispy skin, juicy meat all over (even the tits), and a nice rosemary wine flavor pairing. The only down side to her dish was that the broccoli rabe it was served with was not seasoned (needed salt).

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Apps, Sides & Desserts: 6
We started with just a single slice of Canadian bacon (aka ham). It was nice, just maybe needed a sauce to pair with it.

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We also did a side of sautéed spinach. This was really nice. Smelled really fresh, tasted of garlic and oil, and was generous in size.

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For dessert we tried the tiramisu. This was okay. It wasn’t boozy, and it was nice and soft in texture, but the top was covered in what tasted like frozen cool ship cake frosting. That was a little off-putting but otherwise it was enjoyed.

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Seafood Selection: 9
There’s lots to choose from here for seafood. They have a ton of nice shellfish on the app menu, along with smoked salmon (which was very tempting). For entrees they offer fresh lobster, lobster tails, salmon, sea bass, tuna, shrimp and even a whole roasted fish of the day. Nice! I can’t, in good conscience, give full points though since I didn’t get a chance to try any of it.

Service: 8
I thought our service was a bit on the slow side for a party of two. To Ninos’ defense, though, the place was really busy, so I can’t fault them for that. I’m happy to see businesses keeping busy and having a full house. Also the manager Benny was really friendly, well-dressed, and had a great table side manner. Everyone was pleasant and nice, and even the table bread was pretty good, served with a bowl of olive oil and olives.

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Ambiance: 6
This place has a nice cozy, warm feel to it. A winter’s night was the perfect time for us to come, I think. The musician was playing a mix of Christmas music and Sinatra style favorites, and a few couples had even gotten up to dance for a song or two. Very nice.

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NINO’S TUSCANY
117 W. 58th St.
New York, NY 10019

Torrisi

UPDATE! NEW TORRISI IS OPEN!!!

The new address is: 275 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012

Here are some delicious bites my wife and I tried:

I came here with my wife and her cousin for the ten course $100 price fix meal.

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It’s tough to get a rez here because it is such a tiny spot; very few tables:

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The ladies had a sparkling rose, and I tried three different beers, which seemed to pair nicely with the meal as I went through the courses. My favorite was the white rascal belgian style white ale.

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So here’s how shit went down in terms of food:

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Amuse:
Beggar’s purse with housemade buffalo mozzarella, tied up with chive string and filled with trout roe and crispy bread crumbs. This was a great, briny bite. I could pop these in my mouth like snacks all night.

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One:
Squash macchiato with brown butter and bay leaf apple cider and mulled spices. This was a great little shot of liquid, like a tea, or consommé soup.

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Two:
Japanese abalone sous vide with pickled and charred celery, hazelnut purée and chopped hazelnuts. This was really refreshing and delicate. I was wishing I had a huge bowl of it instead of a little salsa or french onion dip sized dish.

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Three:
East coast Blue crab in gelee minestrone with squash, preserved tomatoes, green beans, bread crumbs, black beans and basil pistou. I hardly had any crab in my serving, but otherwise it was pretty good. It was more like a salad than a soup for sure, due to the gelee technique used.

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Four:
The “mixed grill” course had a few components. First was a Rhode Island oyster with dill, smokey grilled cherry mignonette and fresh ground horseradish. This was an excellent bite. By far one of the better dishes served.

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Then came a trumpet royal/king mushroom “mille feuille in terrine” (lots of thin slices) that was seared in foie gras butter and topped with sea salt flakes. My favorite of the night. It was meaty, fatty, and packed with flavor. Wonderful texture too – nice crunch and bite to it on the edges, yet it was still soft like a mushroom at the same time.

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The last part of the mixed grill was a veal terrine made with tongue, tail, sweetbreads and carrot sausage with pickled fennel salad and smoked brioche pretzels. There were three mustards too: Bavarian, fig, and nectar. My favorite was the nectar. Since there were three of us dining, I was sort of hoping we would each get a slice of terrine. Not the case. I think it is usually one slice per two guests, so we did get a little more than what is typically served. Still not quite enough in my opinion.

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Five:
East coast diver scallop with super thinly sliced white and matsutaki mushrooms in a marsala bouillon with sliced chives. It sat on a nice display of bay leaf and crushed scallop shells. This was really pretty, and also tasty. The scallop was perfectly cooked and then sliced sashimi style.

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Six:
Scottish salmon tartare filled cannelloni with salmon roe, basil, crispy shallots and Meyer lemon zest. This was a great little log of pasta. I’ve never had salmon with pasta before, so it was a great surprise for me.

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Seven:
Sheep’s milk gnocchi with chestnut, chives and brown butter ragu with shallots and pecorino. This was a sweet pillow of pasta. Dessert pasta, almost. Very well done though.

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Eight:
Squab cacciatore skin-on breast with mulberry and walnut dumpling and juniper berry and walnut sauce. This was reminiscent of a duck dish. Perfectly executed breast and a great sweet yet savory sauce.

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Palate Cleanser:
Lemon ginger Italian ice. The ginger really gave it a great spicy kick. Loved it.

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Coffee:
Espresso for me, cappuccino for the ladies.

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Nine:
Whipped ricotta cheesecake with finger lime graham cracker dusting and olive oil, served in eggshells that sat on a porcelain rabbit’s ass area. Nice presentation. Great bite of cheesecake here. Very soft and creamy.

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Ten:
Italian rainbow/tricolor almond/orange sponge cake with chocolate ganache, almond slivers and custard. This was quintessential Italian. The back of the slice was the tricolor cookie/cake. It was beautiful, but not my type of dessert per se. Again I was expecting a third slice here since we were three diners. But again I think the regular portion is one slice for two diners. In this case it was enough for the three of us since none of us particularly loved this dish.

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So that’s about it. I liked the meal very much, but I felt it was a bit expensive for the small portion sizes (despite it being a ten course tasting menu I was still hungry afterwards). That said, I doubt I’d come back unless it was for some sort of special event. Here’s the bill for three people:

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We were sent home with a little box of desserts as well. Nice touch. Out of the items listed on the paper, my favorite was the spicy mango gumdrop thing.

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TORRISI IS CLOSED

Costata

Costata overall score: 94

NOTE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED!!! Very unfortunate…
Ever since this joint opened I’ve been itching to try it out. As an eye-talian WOP, I was intrigued by the idea of an Italian steak joint. After the great meal at Quality Italian, I figured this place would be up to snuff as well. We had a generous gift card to knock the bill down too. Check out the results:
Flavor: 10
I ordered the boneless rib eye, however when the entrees came out, they delivered me a bone-in strip. Doh! I was gearing up for a rough experience, so my wife and I started digging into her lamb chops to get started. The manager, Adele, came over to the table with the strip in hand and said, basically, that since it was already cooked, we could just have both. WHAT!?!??! I felt so terrible, not to mention I am trying to count calories on a new diet. But how could I resist? I accepted the gift of beef and started chowing on the strip while waiting for the rib eye. The flavor was incredible. I got halfway through the strip and had to hold myself back to save room for the rib eye. But when the rib eye came out, it was like next level shit. Perfectly cooked. And the lamb was pretty incredible too. I hold back from a full score of 10 here simply because there was some gristle type fat that was too rugged to eat, but for the most part the fat was very melty and jelly-ish, even on the edge of the strip, which really surprised me.
18oz bone-in strip
18oz bone-in strip
18oz boneless rib eye
18oz boneless rib eye
Check this beast out – I went back for a second time and we ordered the rib eye for two. This was an easy 10.
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Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10

You seriously can’t miss here. They have filet, strip and rib eye for one, but they also have porterhouse, rib eye and strip for two. Quality here is all prime and aged, so you are in good hands no matter what you choose to stuff down your esophagus.

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Portion Size & Plating: 10

Portions are all sizable here. My wife and I sat at the bar in order to take advantage of some smaller sized items at a cheaper price (see below under bar and apps) and even those were a good size. So when you are ordering off the regular menu as opposed to the bar menu, you are getting king-sized shit. As for the cuts, the boneless rib eye is 18oz, the bone-in strip is 18oz, the boneless strip is 12oz, and the filet is 10oz. Then you have the big guns. Strip for two is 36oz, porterhouse for two is 40oz, and rib eye for two is 44oz. Even the lamb chops are 14oz. Big shit. Plating is nice – steaks come with a grilled lemon and some useless greens.

Price: 10

We had a gift card AND we took advantage of some happy hour pricing at the bar, so we did well. below is the bill before knocking off the gift card money. As you can see we ordered a lot of shit, and we were not charged for that mistaken bone-in strip.
William
William
William Price II
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Bar: 10
This place has two bars: a small one near the entrance, just past the host station and stairway, and a larger one upstairs at the front of the dining room. Both are well stocked with interesting spirits and potions for concocting ass-kicking cocktails. We tried a bunch of stuff. Alex, the bartender downstairs, was really sociable and he mixed a great drink. Although it’s a small spot, I could definitely see myself hanging here after work for a drink and a bite – especially when the happy hour menu has so many great drinks and food items for half price. That, along with Alex, made me give the bar a full 10 points despite its small size.
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bar
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Specials and Other Meats: 8
There was nothing on special/off the menu, but the menu did have veal, lamb and chicken by way of alterna-meats. The lamb was perfect by the way.
14oz Colorado lamb chops
14oz Colorado lamb chops
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 9
We tried LOTS of shit here due to the convenience of the bar menu. I’ll start with what we sampled at the bar.
First was half a dozen oysters for only $9 – all from the east coast. Three were from CT (naked cowboy) and the other three from RI (east beach blonde). Both delicious, though I preferred the naked cowboys from CT.
the oysters blondes on left cowboys on right
the oysters
blondes on left
cowboys on right
Next was the trio of crudo for $12. We picked amberjack (delicate, but with a little kick of chili and shallot), fluke (a little tougher to chew, but clean/crisp, and topped with caviar), and the scallop (soft and buttery, with a great truffle puree beneath).
trio of crudo top - scallop mid - fluke bottom - jack
trio of crudo
top – scallop
mid – fluke
bottom – jack
Then a steak tartare. Yes – this was only $11 on the bar menu. It’s like a full-sized app! It was diced a bit too large for my liking, as some pieces remained chewy, but it was packed with earthy flavor due to the mushroom cream at the bottom. This was served with a little plate of cheese chips as well.
steak tartare
steak tartare
At the table we tried an app sized portion of the garganelli pasta with speck and radicchio. It was creamy and savory – really nice. Slightly salty due to the speck, but I think they managed just fine.
garganelli with speck
garganelli with speck
Then an order of octopus with pork belly. The octopus was perfectly cooked, and the skinny end had a really great char across the suction cups that really gave it a nice flavor. However, the bed of orange rind relish underneath was too bitter for my liking.
puss + bacon
puss + bacon
On the side, we had the creamed spinach, of course. it was very creamy, but not overly heavy or salty. They topped it with some crispy onion too. Very nice.
creamed spinach
creamed spinach
For dessert, we tried a trio of sorbets: blood orange, grapefruit campari, and pear. Each tasted very much like the fruit, but a bit too bitter on the back end for the grapefruit.
sorbets (for my wife's bday)
sorbets (for my wife’s bday)
On a second visit we dove into a nice romaine lettuce salad with crispy anchovies, very nicely dressed, and with shaved cheese on top:
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We also had an app sized bowl of spaghetti with clams (Little Necks and razors) in a garlicky butter sauce:
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On the side we tried the crispy artichokes. Very good, well cut so as not to include the woody bits of leaf, and the heart texture was just right. However, a dipping sauce would be a nice added touch for this.
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Seafood Selection: 9
There’s a great deal of seafood on the menu. Caviar selections, many different crudos, five different kinds of oysters, sea bass, langostines, lobster, and some innovative apps as well. Something a little more manly would have rounded out the score here to a 10 – like maybe a swordfish steak done in a new/unique way.
Service: 10
Everyone here was incredible. Our waitress, Amber, was wonderful. I felt really bad when the wrong item came out to the table (strip instead of rib eye), and for a second I almost considered just sticking with the strip.. but I HAVE to try rib eye to rate a steakhouse fairly. When they said we could keep the strip anyway, I was blown away. What an incredible attitude to have towards customers! There was no way my wife and I were going to finish all that meat, so we ended up giving our leftovers to a hungry war veteran who was begging for FOOD, not money, on the subway. I figured it was only fair to give away what I did not pay for. The people at Costata, I’m sure, will be happy to know that the misfire of the strip ended up helping someone in need. When someone is asking for food, you KNOW they are not trying to scam. I hope she (the veteran) enjoys the wonderful meal we gave her. I’d say it was about 14oz-16oz of strip and rib eye, plus nearly a full sized side of creamed spinach. OH – I have to mention the table breads here too – they served rosemary flavored focaccia bread with a small dish of garlicky lard instead of butter – SWEET!
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focaccia with lard
focaccia with lard
leftover food for veteran
leftover food for veteran
The second visit came with a nice little goodbye baggie of popcorn:
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Ambiance: 8
They didn’t change the layout much from when this place was Fiamma. I think they could have benefited from throwing some booths in rather than just tables. It was very nice though, and they were playing great music (classic rock and oldies).

Stecchino

STECCHINO IS NOW CLOSED

My wife and I met some friends at Stecchino for dinner last night. The menu is pretty interesting, and features some really great products.

First we had some starters, like fried artichokes, burrata, and octopus carpaccio. All were fantastic. The artichokes were packed with flavor, and mostly heart. The burrata was incredibly smooth and creamy. And the octopus was tender and we’ll dressed.

For my entrée I had the burger, as it may go to the way side after management’s upcoming planned menu changes. It was a solid burger. Check it out:

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It came with fries, which could have benefited from some more crisp.

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My wife had rabbit fettuccine. The meat was tender but be careful: in my bite i had a small piece of rabbit bone. Look at that beautiful blob of ricotta on top!

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I had to grab a pic of this. It was a limited quantity menu item: short rib. But a huge piece of rib. Tremendous, and really juicy, tender and delicious.

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I also had a bite of my other friend’s chicken scarpariello. Both the sausage and the chicken in the dish were very flavorful.

Bottom line: Stecchino (which means toothpick in Italian, and is the name of my friend’s whippet) is a great place to eat. I’m excited to see how the menu changes in the upcoming weeks, especially because my wife purchased a brunch Groupon for $23, which gets us two entrées and two pitchers of bloody Mary. Yes!

The breakfast burger turned out to be amazing. Really tasty maple bacon, cheddar cheese, and a fried egg. Wonderful.

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The real highlight was the potato dish that came with my wife’s smoked salmon eggs benedict. They were like baked potatoes that had been ripped apart and then deep fried with a light crispy breading. FUCKING MINT!

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Quality Italian

Quality Italian overall score: 96

Flavor: 10
When you’ve eaten as much steak as I have, it takes a lot to achieve memorable, lasting impressions of a meal. QI delivered in spades. This was by far the best regular menu item steak I have ever had. I say “regular menu item” because, of course, when I dropped $94 on a 32oz wagyu rib eye at Del Frisco’s I got a better steak. But for $46??? Holy shitbags my friends… It’s $10 cheaper than most rival restaurants, and for that price you get the most delicious tomahawk style rib chop you will ever sink your teeth into. And it’s a nice big 28oz fucker to boot.
Juicy all the way through, from fat cap to bone. Perfectly cooked pink all the way through. Soft, tender meat even in the roast portion. The fat was delicious – not too oily or greasy, and all of it soft and edible. Seasoning was just right – not too salty to the point where you get the meat sweats afterward (hate that). Simply put: the thing is fucking fantastic. But not only is the steak incredible; everything else is too. My wife had the lemon chicken (pic below in “other meats” section); it was a generous portion size and really tender and juicy – even in the huge tit area (large breast) where things can tend to dry out. Apps, sides and desserts were some of the best I’ve ever had as well.  Read on, assholes.
rib eye before and after
rib eye before and after

Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 10

Everything is prime and aged, and they cover every type of cut possible. They even offer some steaks for two, and a bunch of different types of filets for assholes who eat filets. Every base is covered, and then some.

Portion Size & Plating: 10

The plating was amazing here, just like it was at their sister restaurants Quality Meats and Maloney & Porcelli (Smith & Wollensky not so much). Little touches like herbs for garnish, interesting little porcelain cups filled with coarse salt, mortar and pestle containers for the fresh sauces, and just the way the food was decorated as well – not just slapped on the plate but artfully done. Portion sizes were all very healthy – healthy meaning big – not healthy meaning pussy-sized small dishes for losers on diets. The tartare was the size of a big burger. The sunchokes were two potatoes worth. The pasta side was enough for two no problem. The steak was huge, and the chicken was, I think, a half chicken (thigh, drum, wing, tit, still articulated).

Price: 9

I was a little surprised that the bill only came to $175 and change. For what we had, I was expecting over $200. Everything is extremely fair in price, especially when you take into consideration the PRIME real estate they have. Right on 6th avenue, overlooking the street, and just below the park. Are you fucking kidding? And steaks are still under $50 each??? Wow.
William Price
William Price
Bar: 10
There are two bars to mention here. First you are met with a really nice little bistro style open air/semi-outdoor bar at the front door. Great place to hang out for some negroni on tap, or house made white peach bellinis (also on tap) and watch the people whiz by on their way home from work.
signage and outdoor bar area
signage and outdoor bar area
Upstairs there is a big bar at the top of the steps. Nicely decorated, modern, sleek, but not pretentious. They make great drinks. My martini was perfect, and was garnished with the best olives (castelvetranos). My wife had a great drink called “the midtown,” which was made with bourbon, vermouth, sour cherry, orange peel, and burnt sugar. Nice ice cubes too for those who care (you know who you are).
half drunk martini and "the midtown"
half drunk martini and “the midtown”
Specials and Other Meats: 10
The waiter read off some delicious sounding off-menu specials, and highlighted a few featured menu items that were considered house specialties. One dish they have already become instantly famous for is the chicken parm. It is pounded flat onto a pizza dish and topped with sauce and cheese, then baked. It seriously looks like a pizza. I might have to go back to try this. Anyway they have all kinds of meat on tap here. Beef (of course), chicken, veal, pork, lamb. Everything is covered. One thing to note here – truffles on demand. What? Yes. You can have them come over and tick off a few shavings of truffles on anything your little heart desires (for a fee, of course). Fucking brilliant idea. Below is the lemon chicken dish I described above:
chicken alan
chicken alan
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 10
We started off with the steak tartare and the grilled octopus saltimbocca. Both were fucking incredible. I liked the tartare at Quality Meats better, but it was still really great here. Underneath the patty of chopped beef there was a little pool of mushroom aioli, which was really great when you folded it into the meat and mixed it all up (with a squeeze of lemon too). They even had some shaved cheese on top for a salty crunch. The octopus was perfect. They swapped garbanzos (chic peas) for the cannolinis. I think this is a common thing in Italian food culture, because whenever my mom ran out of cannolinis she used garbanzos for our pasta fagioli. Either bean is fine. Both are great.
tartare and octo
tartare and octo
For sides we had sunchokes (a delicious cross between potato and artichoke, with an amazing little dipping aioli), and porterhouse filled agnolotti (little football shaped pasta dumplings/packages) with a brown butter sauce. Also amazing. They don’t offer creamed spinach here, but they did offer sautéed spinach. I was too excited for the sunchokes though, so I didn’t try it.
pasta and sunchokes
pasta and sunchokes
For dessert we shared a watermelon, lime, strawberry and basil sorbet. It was so fucking good. Very aromatic from the basil, and they even crystallized and sugarified some basil to sprinkle on top and garnish. Really interesting flavors.
sorbet
sorbet
So many of the other desserts looked good too. It was so hard to choose. They even had a cannoli cart rolling around where you could have them make and fill cannolis for you with whatever flavors you want. This place takes steakhouse dining to a whole new level.
Seafood Selection: 8
Other than the octo, we didn’t have any seafood. They had some nice sounding fish entrees like grilled branzino, etc. And they offered 4 different types of oysters on special (Montauk, Rhode Island, and two west coasters), a nice seafood tower, and some interesting shrimp based pastas. Next trip I will have to delve deeper into the seafood menu.
Service: 10
John was hands down the best waiter I’ve ever had – even better than the young guy at Keen’s that I was so impressed with. I instantly felt like I had known John forever. He was warm, funny, very nice, natural, and extremely knowledgeable on the menu. He knew it in and out, and he knew just where to go and what to suggest when we had follow-up questions. The management was the same way – all very welcoming and friendly. I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of people on the floor. Scott, Roger, and Mike: thank you for making me feel like such a celebrity! My wife was beaming when we left – we had such a great time and you really made our special night memorable. I only wish we had a little more time to spare. We would have loved to take Roger up on his offer to hang out at the bar for a while and have some after dinner drinks. Hopefully next time! Other awesome things to mention in the service department: fresh hot garlic bread. Bread like that makes me wish I had 4 hands (One for each lump, just like how Benny wished he had 3 hands – one for each tit – in the movie Total Recall).
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garlic bread
For larger tables, they have this bigger bread dish:
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Also; Kate, the sauce specialist. She made the steak sauce table side, mixing up concoctions of raisin molasses puree, fresh tomato, oregano, and other herbs/spices. It was like watching a wizard make a potion. She stirred it up nice in a mortar and pestle, and boom – we had the most delicious and fresh steak sauce in town. We put it on everything we ate, and even took some home with us.
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sauce making
Ambiance: 9
I love the simple, bare and elegant look here. They really made the best of the space. I think a few more booth type seats might be nice to add, but the concept here is a little more open anyway, so it might not fit right to have big private type booths jammed in there. The views out the windows are great. I didn’t expect to like a second floor dining room this much. The lighting was cool and interesting: glass balls held in a clamp or vice; very industrial, but not the meat-locker type of look that Quality Meats has. Even the shitter was nice, with its beautiful arched wooden doors. It smelled like the inside of a Yankee Candle store. You would never know that people shit and piss in there – very clean and pretty. For a second floor joint, tho splice is pretty dynamite.
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dining room

 

the room where shitting happens
the room where shitting happens

UPDATE

I came back about a year later and really put the hurt on some bone-in strip, filet, and chicken parm. Check out the pics. This place still holds up really well after a year.

Thank you Roger and Gaetano for putting up another amazing meal!

We started with an order of prosciutto, and also ricotta cheese with honey, pine nuts and pear. Really fucking simple and delicious.

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Next came the chicken parm. Holy fuckbags, this is some blow-your-mind shit.  They pound out and chop the chicken into the shape of a pizza and then cover it with sauce and cheese. It’s amazing.

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They also offer a brunch version of this baby with eggs and bacon on top. Super tasty.

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Speaking of brunch, carbonara pasta!!!

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We ordered only the side of mushrooms, but the house sent out some kale carbonara and spaghetti squash too! All were amazing. The mushrooms were a blend of four different types; very earthy and fresh. The kale was really great. This dish beats creamed spinach any day.

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I had the bone-in strip. Really juicy and perfectly cooked. I ate every bite like a fat bastard.

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The filet stole the show though. My buddy got it with this dumpling that was filled with melted gorgonzola. Perfect!

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I almost forgot – the house sent out a free bottle of wine too. WOW!

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Some more food porn from a third visit. Man the shit is always on point at this joint.

Doughnuts:

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Veal osso buco for two:

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Pappardelle:

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Porterhouse for two:

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Mushrooms and peppers with the steak:

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One night my wife and I came here and really just focused on the pasta. Here’s a shitty photo of the really great bucatini with clams (cockles):

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The pasta was cooked perfectly and had a really amazing flavor, with a generous heaping of saffron sprinkled on top.

We had a side of artichoke mac and cheese. Really great texture from the bread crumbs on top, and gratuitous amounts of delicious artichoke brewing beneath the surface.

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On special was a garganelli pasta (similar to a rigatoni or ziti shape) with pork shoulder and guanciale (cured pork jowls). So fucking good.

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They really execute this stuff like no other place. I think my favorite pasta dishes all come from Quality Italian (like the pappardelle that you get with the veal shank, pictured above – fucking amazing).

That night we had the smores ice cream dessert. Burnt marshmallow flavored ice cream and a tart filled with brownie? Yes please!

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The drink selection is always on point too. My wife ordered a tricolor margarita. Check out the ice cube, layered with different colored margarita ingredients, so that when it melts you’r just getting more margarita, instead of water:

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And I was able to try some really nice beer that I’ve never seen before:

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After this non-steak visit, I put this place into a tie with its sister restaurant, Quality Meats. They top the leaderboard right now.

UPDATE 2/20/16

This place is truly amazing. I inserted a few updated photos above, but here is a look at their “bone-in filet” – a really nice piece of tenderloin that’s still attached to the vertebra.

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It was cooked very nicely and was super tender and juicy, yet retained a great charred flavor from the grill.

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My wife tried the balsamic lacquered filet, which is service with a marrow bone filled with fried hazelnuts and marrow. Delicious as well, and cooked similarly perfect.

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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every cut of beef available here, and a few specials and steak alternatives as well. I can guarantee you will have a great meal here. My most recent waiter, Michael, and the manager Gaetano, really made us feel like royalty here. A few more shots of the incredible food here.

Corn brûlée:

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Sauteed spinach:

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Fries:

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Assorted gelato: ferraro rocher, coffee and nuts, and blood orange creamsicle.

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A beautiful lemon tart:

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Apple strudel thing:

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Tartufo for two (big enough for four):

QUALITY ITALIAN
57 W. 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

Mamma Santina’s

This is some of the best pizza you will ever taste on Long Island. It’s too bad I just found out about it 2 or 3 months before moving back to NYC. In that short time I have been back at least 4 times. I’ve tried the white pizza, the margherita pizza, and the prosciutto & arugula pizza – all brick oven styles. I haven’t tried a regular PIE yet, but the regular SLICE was excellent (reheated from under the glass – the best way to eat a slice, in my opinion). Good cheese to sauce ratio, good crispy crust with a little bit of softness when you bite down. Really well done stuff here, with simple and high quality ingredients like fresh mozz, basil, and bright flavorful sauce. CLICK HERE to visit their fucking website.

Some pizzaporn food porn below:

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MAMMA SANTINA’S
201 Orinoco Dr
Brightwaters, NY 11718

Da Marcella Mediterranean Taverna

UPDATE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED!

I was recently invited to a press dinner at Da Marcella Mediterranean Taverna in midtown. This place has an Italian- and Spanish-inspired menu that showcases high quality ingredients and expert preparation. Owner Manuel Moreno has two Da Marcella restaurants. The original taverna is in Greenwich Village, is small, and has a very comforting, mom & pop neighborhood feel with very affordable prices ($10 pastas). It’s been open for two years. The goal since the midtown opening in November is to recreate that atmosphere, despite the challenges of the area being less of a neighborhood.

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Manuel also endeavored to bring his Spanish heritage to light as well in the midtown location, as he is half Italian (mom’s side) and half Spanish (dad’s side).

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The downtown menu is fully Italian, but the midtown menu shows off some tapas, paella and other Spanish staples. All recipes were handed down from his grandmother to his mother (the restaurants’ namesake), so you know you are getting something authentic when you eat at his restaurants.

Our host for the evening was Ernesto, who is manager but also the wine expert. The downtown wine menu is Italian, but the midtown wine list is thoroughly Mediterranean, with choices from Spain and Greece a well as Italy. There are 18 wines by the glass, nine of which change frequently.

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As you can see from the tasting menu, he picked some really great wines to pair with each dish, all of which seemed to get increasingly better as the meal went on.

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So we started with the marinated octopus with caperberries, and Scottish salmon tartare with avocado. Both were absolutely amazing. The octopus was hands down the most tender I have ever eaten. The only thing that would have made it better is if it were grilled to give it a little char. The tartare was perfectly balanced between acidic, savory and even sweet. The wine paired here was a nice dry but floral white from Riax Baixas in the north part of Spain. I enjoyed it, and I typically don’t really like whites all that much.

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Next were the veal and pork mini-meatballs and a plate of burrata with prosciutto and truffle sauce. The truffle sauce was just the right amount of earthiness to bring out the other flavors and make them all pop. And the meatballs, well, they were soft and flavorful. It’s always tough to impress me with meatballs because I am spoiled by having good Italian mom and grandma meatballs, but these were excellent. The wine here was a really nice light Chainti. Well paired.

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The tagliatelle pasta was perfect. Fresh made, al dente, properly sauced, and really delicious. The bolognese sauce is highly complex without being heavy, which in itself is a feat. It contains 18 ingredients, a few of which are meats. They really make grandma proud here, as this is clearly a signature item at the restaurant. With the pasta we had a Cabernet-Montepulciano wine, which was my favorite of the night. Robust and flavorful, but not heavy or too acidic.

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Next we had the seafood and chicken paella, which contained chicken (of course), clams, mussels, calamari, string beans and peas. I haven’t had many paellas in my day, as I tend to like Asian rice dishes better for the crisp texture, but this was pretty damned good. I was amazed at how they got each separate ingredient to be perfectly cooked. For example, I imagine they have to throw in the calamari at a different time than the clams, and at a different time than the chicken, string beans, etc. Each component was just right, so that must be a real challenge. The wine for this and the beef course (next) was a rich Temperanillo. Full bodied, well aged; a no bullshit kind of wine. Probably quite costly too had we been paying customers.

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Our last savory course was the wine-braised beef short rib with creamy polenta. This was awesome. The meat was a bit salty, but when you took a bite with the polenta (which was amazing on its own too) it really balanced it out nicely. I was a happy meat man when eating this. So tender, soft and flavorful.

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For dessert we had a sampling of three items: pannacotta, tiramisu, and ricotta cheese cake. Owner Manuel is a baker by trade, so all desserts are made in house if not brought in from his personal Long Island City bakery called the Bakery of New York. The pannacotta was my favorite here. It was perfectly textured – creamy yet firm. It had herb notes of sage or tarragon as well. Very inventive. The tiramisu was very nice as well, but the consensus of others at the table was that the cheese cake was the big winner. Not too heavy, really nice flavors.

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To sum it up; I really enjoyed the meal here, and I plan to go back soon, especially since it’s so close to my office. I’d also love to get down to the original location in the village to try out some of their very affordable and highly rated pastas (if I can get a table – the place is now generating big lines from what I understand, because there is a lot of demand).

Capizzi Pizzeria Italiana

I recently became aware of Capizzi when I was invited for a couple of press dinners. It is situated right between my wife and my work places, so it was an easy spot to try out on a whim.

This cozy little joint is tucked away under the bridge on 9th Avenue at Port Authority.

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When you walk in, you feel like you’re at someone’s house that has been temporarily transformed into a dining room. The old tube TV and the floor-standing, old timey radio have been moved aside to make room for guests. They even have and old school fridge and ice box along the cabinetry on one side of the room…

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…and dried peppers hanging from the ceiling, just like at grandma’s house.

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Which they crush into their own house crushed red pepper, served alongside dried oregano that is still on the stems. Just like home!

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By 6pm on the Friday before Memorial Day, when people are itching to vacate the city, this place was already jumping WITH A LINE OUT THE DOOR AND DOWN THE STREET. Completely full. Wow!

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The plates mirror this cozy home feeling, and it’s no wonder Capizzi was jammed up from such an early time… because everything was awesome. And it boasts an extensive Wine selection for all you wine drinking folks out there. In my two visits, I got to taste pretty much all their wines by the glass. The montepulciano, nero d’avola, lambrusco, chianti, and muscato were all great.

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Our waiter Andre started us off with a couple of glasses of sangiovese on our first visit, which is one of my favorite varietals. The cool thing about the second visit was that he was there again, but this time just visiting on his off-day to say hello to friends, which I thought was pretty cool. He remembered us too! Great guy. On the second trip we had the pleasure of being served by Sami as our waitress, and Javier as bus boy. Service here is impeccable! Javier was fast, attentive, and very nice. Sami was a sweetheart, and made excellent suggestions for what to order. The people running Capizzi definitely know how to choose good quality staff.

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We had a plate of soft, tasty burrata cheese that was garnished with basil, artichoke hearts, sliced grape tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and prosciutto – all lightly drizzled with olive oil. It was excellent. Simple and delicious.

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Next came the antipasto misto: a plate of Italian meats, cheese, olives, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and eggplant. A nice way to double down on our starter plate. As you can see in the pic, Andre again served us from the main plate. Top notch service here!

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The antipasto came with a basket of toasted, lightly cheesed flatbread. Naked pizza, if you will. Really airy and crispy. We took this home with us since we couldn’t finish it all, and wanted to save room for pizza.

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On trip number two we tried two salads – HUGE portion sizes. Definitely can split these. These were both very simple dishes that showcased incredible, fresh ingredients. In the first case, cucumber, roasted red peppers, and really top quality olive oil.

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The other salad was a simple, refreshing fennel and orange salad. Again massive portion size, and very tasty.

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Then comes the pizza. We ordered a regular Margherita pie with some arugula and prosciutto on top. The pie was doughy yet crisped and lightly charred on the surfaces and crust. This kind of perfection can only be achieved with an authentic wood burning brick oven.

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The sauce was deftly applied with just the right volume and ratio to the crust and cheese. It had a very slight sweetness to it, which was cut nicely by the peppery arugula and salty prosciutto. The cheese was fresh and melty, and on top there was some fresh grated parmesan cheese for that earthy kick. We devoured every bite of this masterpiece.

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On a second visit we tried two pies. First the margherita pie – your basic cheese and sauce pizza. It was fucking PERFECT. Words escape me right now as I try to describe it. It was crisp, yet soft. It was savory, fresh, and juicy from point to crust. Honestly this is now my favorite pizza in New York, and I grew up a spoiled pizza brat.

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The other pie we tried was on special for the night, and was topped with speck, prosciutto, arugula and mozzarella. This was really great. In fact, pretty much every pizza on the menu sounds enticing. My wife and I plan to move back into the city this summer, and this area is one of or top choices for location. Needless to say, Capizzi will be our go-to pizza joint, no question. Look at how amazing the pizza is…

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We finished off the meal with my wife’s favorite classic dessert, tiramisu, on our first visit. It was good – nice and light, not too boozy; a great ending to a wonderful meal.

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On the second visit, we took advice from our waitress Sami to try the Oreo truffle cannoli. She hit the nail on the head. It was just the right amount of sweet without being overpowering. It was flavorfully unique, but with enough tribute paid to the classic cannoli dessert not to offend any traditionalist sensibilities. And as always, the plating was beautiful to boot.

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As a pizza aficionado, I definitely recommend this place to those looking for a great pie (no single slices here – for that you need to go to Saluggis). Do yourself a favor and go here ASAP. I think for sit-down, full-pie pizza, this is absolutely my new favorite place to go.

An interesting side note about this place:

“They got an old-fashion’ toilet… You know… The box, and, and, and, ah the chain-thing… We might be able to tape the gun behind it.”

– Tessio

chain toilet capizzi

CAPIZZI
547 9th Ave
New York, NY 10018

Scarpetta

UPDATE: THIS JOINT IS NOW CLOSED

Scarpetta is a legit excellent Italian restaurant. Scott Conant, of “Chopped” judging fame, is the owner. My wife and I went here to celebrate our 5th anniversary. Here’s a quick photo dump with some info about each item. Eat here. Fucking do it.

First is the table bread. Its a really amazing selection of warm & crispies that comes with olive oil, mascarpone butter, eggplant tomato sauce and a pair of stromboli: broccoli rabe and salami. So much for not eating meat on Good Friday!

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Next is the creamy polenta topped with truffled mushrooms. Really decadent and delicious.

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And the sfornato: duck leg atop a savory custard with pickled sunchoke. Amazing.

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Now the pasta. First was the saffron cavatelli with oxtail. Delicious, though a touch too salty for my preference.

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My wife had the agnolotti with marrow and braised short rib inside. These were great, and unexpectedly light.

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At this point we were fucking stuffed, but there’s always room for meat. Goat meat in fact. This capretto was in the style of ossobuco or braised shank, though made up of many parts of the animal. Served with chopped broccoli rabe. Scrum-diddly-umptious.

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We were too full for dessert unfortunately, but we did have a fake sighting of Alex Guarnaschelli on the way out. Both my wife and I could swear it was her, but I asked her on twitter and she said that it wasn’t her. Pretty cool that she even responded.

SCARPETTA
355 W. 14th St.
New York, NY 10014