GOTHAM FOODIE

Here we go, NYC! There is sooooo much good Italian food in the Big Apple, it’s so hard to choose a favorite! I don’t even try, to be honest. However, it’s not going to stop me from letting you know which ones are my favorite. I’m forever researching restaurants, chefs and newcomers, it takes me quite a bit of time to pick which ones I will try next. And to be honest, there are a few spots that don’t make into my blog. I only want to tell you about my favorite dinners and experiences, but I’m not in the business to bohoo another’s hard earned livelihood. So here are three of my absolute favorite dinner experiences at Italian restaurants that I have had lately. I recommend all!

Misi

Misi is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and while it’s not too far from the city, for me, doing the trek from the Bronx, it’s quite time consuming. But I have previously dined at the sister restaurant Lilia, and I absolutely loved it, so it was a no brainer. The owner, Missy Robbins, is well known for her breathtaking talent to make pasta, and reservations for this restaurant are hard to come by. I lucked out, and got a reservation for 5 pm on a week night, and got on my pony (subway).

I was supposed to go to dinner with my son Nicolas, but he had a sudden work engagement, so I ended up ordering two appetizers and two entrees to take half of it home to him. You can’t even imagine how excited I was to try this food! Of course I had to steal some of his food, just to have a little taste. First were the Trumpet Mushrooms Sott’olio with Whipped Ricotta and Crostini. May I say Holy Smokes? Absolutely amazing. I mean, you can never go wrong with ricotta, but whipped, and with the addition of the amazingly seasoned mushrooms? Outstanding. The next appetizer consisted of Grilled Italian Broccoli with a Garlic Vinaigrette, Sharp Provolone and Breadcrumbs. This a perfect vegetarian appetizer, the vinaigrette was top notch, the breadcrumbs gave it a sweet little crunch. Now, to the pasta: Strangozza with Pork Sugo, Nutmeg and Parmigiano was ridiculously delicious, I stole a few bites, because this one was for my son, and I had to honestly stop myself. But I’m glad I saved the last pasta for myself, because it was seriously the highlight of the dinner. Spinach and Mascarpone filled Tortellini, Brown Butter and Ricotta Salata. This goes down in history as one of my favorite pastas ever. I want more. Run, don’t walk, to dine here.

Via Carota

Via Carota is located in the West Village in a charming neighborhood. Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, two of the culinary queens of New York, got together and opened this amazing restaurant. Reservations aren’t just hard to get, they just don’t offer reservations. So. Go, see what they say, come back at an assigned time, or wait around. Trust me, it’s worth it. I got super lucky, I just decided one day that I was gonna give it a shot for lunch, and immediately scored a great seat at the bar. I was super happy. I have heard so much good about the food, I was in gleeful anticipation. Here I also ordered two appetizers and two pastas, half of it being for my son. And yes, I dipped into all the dishes.

My first appetizer was ‘Nduja Arancini, which is a serving of Rice and Spicy Pork Fritters. Hot, crispy, packed with flavor, this was a show stopper. Next was Acciughe E Burro, which is toast with a healthy serving of cultured butter, topped with salted anchovies. This was very, very rich, and I loved every bite. I love butter, love anchovies, and together on top of that crunchy toast, it is simply scrumptious. My first pasta was (of course) Tonnarelli Cacio Pepe, because, if for no other reason, this is one of the dishes this restaurant is known for. It was hands down the best Cacio Pepe I ever had. I closed out with a few bites of the Tagliatelle with Parmigiano and Prosciutto (which I was bringing home to my son), and this was another show stopper. Perfectly seasoned with a touch of nutmeg, This is a highlight on their menu.

Bad Roman

To be quite honest, I wasn’t going to dine at Bad Roman. I saw pictures on social media, heard a big hoopla about the esthetics of the restaurant, and while I appreciate a pretty decor, my main objective is to find really good food. From my experience, “instragrammable” restaurants often don’t live up to the hype when it comes to the dishes themselves. But, oh, how wrong I was. I happened to come across an article from the Michelin Guide, and lo and behold, nothing but good things were mentioned about this place! Of course my mind was changed quickly, and after scolding myself for being so snooty, I made reservations for an early dinner, celebrating my birthday with my girl gang. This place, which is located in The Shops at Columbus Circle, was way beyond my expectations.

There were four of us for dinner, so I got to try a whole lot of food. What a good day it was. The appetizers led the way to a fantastic meal. We had: Roasted Garlic Babka (an absolute must) and ‘Roni Cups with Ranch dressing (probably my favorite that day). We had some Rosemary Sage Fries to go around, 100% excellent and well seasoned. Our main dishes were Short Rib Pappardelle with San Marzano tomatoes (exceptional), Rock Shrimp Chimaera with Calabrian Chili, Sungold Tomatoes and some citrus (beyond delicious), and Chicken Scarpariello Rigatoni with Hot Cherry Peppers and Sweet Italian Sausage, which was my choice of the night. It landed fair and square on my list of favorite pastas. We closed out our dinner with an absolute must have: the Lemon Cheesecake. It’s not only beautiful, masterful in design and innovation, but it is so delicious, that you would do yourself a disservice to forgo it. This was seriously one of my favorite dinners in a long time in New York City.