176 2nd ave btwn 10/11th sts
new york, ny 10003
212/777.1555
(they also have west village & soho locations - i don't know if the menus are the same.)
Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label italian. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
tribeca is so lucky!
i had a delicious meal last night at locanda verde. kudos to andrew carmellini who i think is super talented... everything was pretty perfect: bustling scene on a tuesday night, a beautiful bar (with great lighting), amazing food, and good service. i even liked the women's restroom!
i discovered last weekend that my favorite bartender, naren young, left bobo and has since taken over the entire cocktail program at locanda verde... what luck! so we started with cocktails which were all amazing. i even continued with cocktails through dinner, which is generally my preference when i know the drinks will be good.
our server gave us a rundown of the family-style menu, and we ordered a fair amount of food... we definitely wanted a sampling. we started with the lamb meatballs that had yummy pickles and were juicy, perfect. then two cicchetti, which she described as 4-5 bite servings, the blue crab crostini and cotechino sausage crostini. even my S.O., who doesn't like seafood generally, enjoyed the blue crab crostini! it was definitely a standout.
our next course included the burrata, a cheese that i ADORE, and the autumn salad which was my favorite type of salad full of radicchio, endive, hazelnuts and fatty pieces of speck, mmmm. my S.O. doesn't do veggies really, but i passed him some of the speck, which he appreciated.
for pastas, we only ordered 2 originally, but after we finished we needed to order another because they were so good. my grandmother's ravioli - stuffed with veal, pork and beef - was deemed by my S.O. as the best ravioli he's ever had. the tomato sauce was perfectly flavored - it was well-balanced and although i haven't had the red sauce at scarpetta, i bet locanda verde's would hold its own. the stracci with wild boar ragu was like thick shorter pappardelle, and even my S.O. went in for seconds and commented on how delish it was. i noted a blue cheese aftertaste that worked well with the dish, but i don't know if i'd order it again. our 3rd, last-minute pasta was the pumpkin agnolotti with a brown butter sage sauce... how can you go wrong? it was seasonal and so tasty, and we used the leftover bread to sop up the sauce. (note: the bread was just ok.)
for our secondi, we went with the highly lauded garlic chicken for 2 and the veal cheeks. i don't even like chicken, and i thought it was super flavorful. i only ate the drumsticks because i'm a dark meat girl, but i had the leftover white meat chicken today, and although a touch dry, as chicken breasts tend to be, the flavor was intensely garlic. but the real standout were the veal cheeks - i love the tender meat, over a perfect risotto milanese... another dish that i licked clean. a side of roasted brussels sprouts with chunks of pancetta and grated pecorino rounded out our vegetable-less meal; i love brussels sprouts, and these were no exception.
we even went for dessert because all of the dishes were so successful, i couldn't stop myself. i loved everything - the affogato, which is my favorite italian dessert, but the mascarpone gelato was a perfect twist; i was blown away by the pistachio brown butter cake with huckleberries; and the 3 flavors of gelati - rice custard, brown butter and caramel were all yummy. my S.O. is an ice cream guy, so we had to try them all.
overall, one of the better meals i've had in quite a while! for sure i'll be returning for cocktails AND food.
locanda verde
377 greenwich street at north moore
new york, ny 10013
212/925-3797
i discovered last weekend that my favorite bartender, naren young, left bobo and has since taken over the entire cocktail program at locanda verde... what luck! so we started with cocktails which were all amazing. i even continued with cocktails through dinner, which is generally my preference when i know the drinks will be good.
our server gave us a rundown of the family-style menu, and we ordered a fair amount of food... we definitely wanted a sampling. we started with the lamb meatballs that had yummy pickles and were juicy, perfect. then two cicchetti, which she described as 4-5 bite servings, the blue crab crostini and cotechino sausage crostini. even my S.O., who doesn't like seafood generally, enjoyed the blue crab crostini! it was definitely a standout.
our next course included the burrata, a cheese that i ADORE, and the autumn salad which was my favorite type of salad full of radicchio, endive, hazelnuts and fatty pieces of speck, mmmm. my S.O. doesn't do veggies really, but i passed him some of the speck, which he appreciated.
for pastas, we only ordered 2 originally, but after we finished we needed to order another because they were so good. my grandmother's ravioli - stuffed with veal, pork and beef - was deemed by my S.O. as the best ravioli he's ever had. the tomato sauce was perfectly flavored - it was well-balanced and although i haven't had the red sauce at scarpetta, i bet locanda verde's would hold its own. the stracci with wild boar ragu was like thick shorter pappardelle, and even my S.O. went in for seconds and commented on how delish it was. i noted a blue cheese aftertaste that worked well with the dish, but i don't know if i'd order it again. our 3rd, last-minute pasta was the pumpkin agnolotti with a brown butter sage sauce... how can you go wrong? it was seasonal and so tasty, and we used the leftover bread to sop up the sauce. (note: the bread was just ok.)
for our secondi, we went with the highly lauded garlic chicken for 2 and the veal cheeks. i don't even like chicken, and i thought it was super flavorful. i only ate the drumsticks because i'm a dark meat girl, but i had the leftover white meat chicken today, and although a touch dry, as chicken breasts tend to be, the flavor was intensely garlic. but the real standout were the veal cheeks - i love the tender meat, over a perfect risotto milanese... another dish that i licked clean. a side of roasted brussels sprouts with chunks of pancetta and grated pecorino rounded out our vegetable-less meal; i love brussels sprouts, and these were no exception.
we even went for dessert because all of the dishes were so successful, i couldn't stop myself. i loved everything - the affogato, which is my favorite italian dessert, but the mascarpone gelato was a perfect twist; i was blown away by the pistachio brown butter cake with huckleberries; and the 3 flavors of gelati - rice custard, brown butter and caramel were all yummy. my S.O. is an ice cream guy, so we had to try them all.
overall, one of the better meals i've had in quite a while! for sure i'll be returning for cocktails AND food.
locanda verde
377 greenwich street at north moore
new york, ny 10013
212/925-3797
Monday, March 30, 2009
i'll borough for food: bronx
my sister left for argentina yesterday, and she convinced me to pick her up in the bronx by tempting with me arthur avenue pizza. she described it as "pizza from italy" not new york-style, and she said it was awesome. i'm easily swayed by food.
i love arthur avenue. it smells like freshly baked bread. there are lots of people walking around. people say the italians are leaving, but i see tons of italians every time i go.
trattoria zero otto nove is definitely not typical old-school italian. but it's a refreshing, current spot that has a following. the entire restaurant was full when we arrived at 5pm! it's a great space with vaulted ceilings and a mezzanine level overlooking the ground floor.
i love arthur avenue. it smells like freshly baked bread. there are lots of people walking around. people say the italians are leaving, but i see tons of italians every time i go.
trattoria zero otto nove is definitely not typical old-school italian. but it's a refreshing, current spot that has a following. the entire restaurant was full when we arrived at 5pm! it's a great space with vaulted ceilings and a mezzanine level overlooking the ground floor.
there's a pizza oven in the dining room, and my S.O. pointed out huge vats of nutella sitting around the oven (i'm not a nutella fan). the pizza chefs were super friendly; happy chefs, happy pizza? the waiters are a bit surly, but not rude, and they're all young men, relatively attractive. i don't mind surly as long as they're competent. since yesterday happened to be one of those "bottomless pit" kind of days, we decided to go for two appetizers, two pizzas, two pastas and two desserts.
the appetizers: polpettine with polenta was delicious (little polenta cakes with mini meatballs and goat cheese - yum), whereas the eggplant parmagiana was disappointing (i think they didn't purge the eggplant enough of the bitter juices).
the appetizers: polpettine with polenta was delicious (little polenta cakes with mini meatballs and goat cheese - yum), whereas the eggplant parmagiana was disappointing (i think they didn't purge the eggplant enough of the bitter juices).
the pizzas: both were very tasty, but very different. the caprese was fresh and light with arugula, cherry tomatoes and parmesan cheese. the diavolo was spicy and heartier, with fresh mozzarella and spicy soppressata. the crust was tasty, but i think it could've been crisper. i dipped it in the olive oil with salt, and it was like great bread.the pastas: the pasta al forno felt like it was a bunch of everything leftover thrown into a pot. i love ricotta in pasta, but it made the sauce grainy. and i hate egg, so the sliced hard-boiled egg in the dish was an UNWELCOME addition. the pasta was perfect. the pasta fagioli (not soup) had prosciutto and cannellini beans with a mix of different kinds of pasta. it was wonderfully hearty. again the pasta was perfectly cooked, even though it included a mish-mash of bucatini and what looked like short manicotti noodles.
the desserts: i can't remember the name of my dessert, but mine was amazing. it was ladyfingers with light whipped cream, strawberries and strawberry sauce. mmm. my S.O. and sister shared the nutella pizza for two. i didn't try it since nutella really doesn't do it for me.
the verdict: it was a good, hearty meal, but next time i'll order the pizza well-done. the pasta in general was yummy. the salads looked great, but yesterday wasn't a salad day. also, it was more expensive than i thought (for the bronx in particular) - about $60pp including my S.O.'s wine, tax and tip.
trattoria zero otto nove
2357 arthur avenue near 186th street
bronx, ny 10458
718/220.1027
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we headed over around 330PM for a late lunch/early dinner, and the restaurant was relatively empty. we chose a seat close to the bar so i could take in the warm rustic decor (and the warmth from the pizza oven & kitchen).
let's just get to business & talk food...
APPETIZERS
-meatballs - first, the tomato sauce with the meatballs was fantastic. very fresh, clean, not too stewed. as for the meatballs, they were just ok. they tasted fine, but the texture was a bit on the rubbery side. texture is such a vital component of the meatball. (we took 1/2 home and i ate them for breakfast this morning, and one literally BOUNCED off my plate.)
-buffalo mozzarella & prosciutto di parma - a simple appetizer with very good tangy mozzarella and fresh prosciutto drizzled lightly with olive oil.
PIZZA
-18" bianca del diavolo - note, this is the pizza we ordered, but we received what basically amounted to a margherita with pepperoni. there was no ricotta. we didn't say anything bc we were hungry, but i was disappointed. that said, this pizza was a solid pizza - very thin crust, quality ingredients, nice meaty pepperoni and blotches of that delicious tomato sauce (same as the sauce with the meatballs).
PASTA
-lasagna - this might just be the best lasagna ive had in nyc. creamy meat sauce layered between thin sheets of fresh pasta. WOW. again WOW. i hate to write about this last for the savory courses, but it came out a good 5-10 minutes after our pizza even though we asked that they be served together. on the bright side, we brought most of it home, so i got to eat it for breakfast this morning!
DESSERT
-tiramisu - this was just good. nothing special. there were some bites of ladyfinger that hadnt soaked in enough espresso and the cream was a tad thin, but it tasted fine.
numero 28 has a comfortable vibe, with wood tables a bit off balance, sunlight streaming in from the glass doors in front. a good place to go for brunch, and i could see it being annoyingly crowded for dinner, especially on weekends. despite being "on the wagon" (sober february *sigh*), we noticed that they served lambrusco (a fave) and another table had a bottle of veuve (my least favorite every day champagne, but at least they have champers!).
before using the scoop st certificate, the bill was $77 (including tax but not tip - remember, no booze, but we brought a lot of food home). oh, and they only take cash. that was a bummer. there's an ATM on-site but still... cash only is annoying.
my last word - and this is a good one: our waiter... the service was fine, he was friendly, a bit absent-minded (note service-related comments in pizza/pasta sections above). but he was HOT... in that euro-y hot way. i'd go back just to stare at him. yummy.