Featured Cocktail: Maialino
Maryse Chevrière — August 19, 2010
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From left, Pig and Pepe, and the Farewell to Arms.
Mention cocktails and Maialino in the same breath and chances are conversation is going to lead to the Pig and Pepe. It makes perfect sense— this is, after all, the cocktail made with tequila that has been washed with fat from the restaurant’s signature suckling pig.
Set your fears aside, the Pig and Pepe doesn’t taste like drinking pork. It’s light and tart, like a margarita— best with a bit of the smoky chili powder rim. But this is a bar you want to linger at (if you can angle a seat)— great for people-watching. Finish the Pig ($12) and explore other drinks.
Featured Cocktail: Marea’s Stormy Veloce
Maryse Chevrière — August 05, 2010
Marea’s Stormy Veloce.
In a way, it makes perfect sense that Marea, Michael White’s much-decorated temple of coastal Italian seafood, would serve one of the City’s best Dark ‘n’ Stormy’s. Where better to enjoy a cocktail that evokes images of the beach and sea, than here, over impeccable crudo and crostini with uni and lardo.
The “Stormy Veloce” ($14), as it’s called, even fits in quite nicely with the space. The cocktail’s copper red, fade-to-yellow coloring is striking against that swirling, glowing great tide of a marble bar. But enough admiring—mix and sip.
It’s bold. A powerful one-two punch from the fresh ginger and heavy hand of Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. There’s no ginger beer, as per the original recipe. Instead the aromatic Italian liqueur, Veloce, and Chinotto, an Italian citrus/herbal soda, have been added, more in theme with the restaurant’s cuisine.
Featured Cocktail: San Rocco Lemon Shot
Arthur Bovino — July 22, 2010
San Rocco’s Lemon Shot.
Sucker for shots? Sucker for kitschy shots? Come on, get over your big bad old self. You know you are.
If you’ve been reading the weekly Featured Cocktail posts, then you know that whether the shots are set on fire, dropped in pints, served in glasses made of ice, or even better, some combination of all three, they get us every time. We’re not scared to go maverick and create them ourselves (a Leche de Tigre at Bar Paya for one), but it’s great when they’re house specialties, like Mad for Chicken’s Coooool Shot, and 8st Kitchen’s Korean Bomber. Even better when they’re eponymous; then you can’t really leave the place without trying it— that kind of oversight would just be unprofessional. Here’s a new one we recently discovered: San Rocco’s Lemon Shot.
No, it’s not set on fire, but the shot involves presentation and two stages, and it’s very easy to drink. And really, what else do you need? Stoli, Triple Sec, and Lemon— it’s a Kamikaze-Lemon Drop mash-up. There’s half a hollowed-out lemon filled with vodka, perched on top a shot glass filled with Triple Sec. You throw back the vodka from the lemon half, squeeze the little bit of lemony vodka remaining in it into the Triple Sec, and then down that too. In the words of the owner, Rocco Arena, with whom we shared one last week by invitation, “Salute a noi.”
Featured Brunch: Locanda Verde
Maryse Chevrière — June 25, 2010
Clockwise from top: “Scampi and Grits,” Bloody Mary della Casa, Housemade Sausage.
Well-deserved praise has been bestowed upon Locanda Verde’s breakfast and pastries. And while many of the stars—Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Hazelnut-crusted French Toast, and a Blueberry Cake Doughnut—are on the brunch menu, there’s reason to stray towards savory items. Open with a Bloody Mary Della Casa— smooth, not spicy, and served with a hot Italian pepper and a cube of mortadella.
“Scampi and Grits,” a Southern classic reinterpreted through an Italian lens, is an absolute must-order. There are small rock shrimp, so tender and delicate they break the way an orange vesicle does. They’re mixed with nubs of sausage in a tomato sauce that is more sweet than savory. It’s wonderful over the not too coarsely textured polenta and mixed with the yolk from two coddled eggs. You wonder about the possibilities of this sauce tossed with any of the restaurant’s excellent pastas.
AlwaysInvestigating: Panini at Salumè
GutterGourmet — June 21, 2010
The San Danielle, a Prosciutto Crudo Panini at Salumè in SoHo.
Over the past few years it seems that every deli in the city, even the Korean ones, began offering warm “panini.” Unfortunately, this quickly became equated with Italian grilled cheese. Milan native, Michele Colombo, is attempting to rectify this with his fashionable panini shop, Salumè, in SoHo. But, instead of pressing his sandwiches into Italian Cubans, Colombo’s fresh warm rolls and open-faced toasted canapés enhance the mostly Italian imported ingredients.
Featured Brunch: Maialino’s Pesce Spada Affumicato
Maryse Chevrière — June 04, 2010
Pesce Spada Affumicato at Maialino.
Smoked fish, cream, onion, toast— a combination familiar to New York’s brunch scene. But at the Gramercy darling, Maialino, the concept is given fresh legs Italian-style: Pesce Spada Affumicato.
The customary lox is replaced with smoked swordfish that is clean and simple, like a breakfast crudo. The fish is mild but with a meatier texture than you would expect for such a thin slice. It’s a plate that begs for do-it-yourself construction. A shmear of smooth robiolina on thin, chewy toast, swordfish on top of that, finished with a tart sliver of pickled red onion. A side of bitter greens, well-dressed with a splash of acid, helps you slow down and keep pace between bites.
Always Investigating: Marco Polo Café
GutterGourmet — May 12, 2010
Moo Goo Gai Panini at Marco Polo Café in the East Village.
Did Marco Polo introduce Italy to pasta by bringing Chinese noodles along the Silk Road in the 13th century? Who cares? His namesake café on St. Marks was conceived on what was probably a myth, but the mélange of Italian and Chinese dishes at this 8-seater on St. Marks is for real.
It culminates with the signature dish: Moo Goo Gai Panini. The owners, a husband-and-wife team (she Chinese, he Italian-American) do much of the cooking too, behind a shoji screen partitioning the room.
Start with the scallion-topped Shanghai pan-seared pork buns. Then the savory, steamed Char Siu Bao that are stuffed with minced pork. They do not suffer from the sticky-sweet red sauce found in many dim sum palaces, and are available (with a variety of wontons and dumplings) prepackaged to steam at home. Marco Polo Café also offers ravioli and dumpling pairings, and recently added a Chicken Empanada at the suggestion of their Latin American cook.
Not everything works— an Italian Tuscan Bison Meatball sandwich on spongy bread is better left untasted. But the signature dish will convert even the anti-fusion purists. The Moo Goo Gai Panini sounds like a bicycle crash involving Chinese and Italian take-out delivery boys, but it is fantastic. Tender, white chicken is blanketed by fontina, mixed with scallions and crunchy pickles, then pressed in chewy, griddle-marked bread. There are shitakes in lieu of the traditional Moo Goo button mushrooms.
Chinese? Italian? Delicious.
Location: Marco Polo Café
Address: 102 St. Marks Place
Contact: (212) 228-8456
Featured Dessert: Il Cantuccio’s Pancioc
Maryse Chevrière — May 04, 2010
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Clockwise from top: Pancioc, and Espresso from Il Cantuccio in the West Village.
Walk into the just-opened West Village outpost of Italian bakery, Il Cantuccio, for a coffee and something sweet, and your choice is simple. Obvious, really.
The heralded, namesake cantucci, of course. Small, golden biscotti studded with chunks of chocolate, almonds, and sweet fig that beckon to you from the moment you step inside. Then an Italian gentleman who was on line in front of you walks past with some sort of speckled sweet roll— is that chocolate? Yes, and this treat is called Pancioc.
Featured Dessert: Manducatis’ “Italian Cone” Sandwich
Arthur Bovino — April 20, 2010
Clockwise from top: Caramel and Chocolate Gelato “Italian Cone” Sandwich, and the gelato display at Manducatis Rustica in Long Island City.
There’s more to Manducatis Rustica than pizza, saucy calzones, and a fireplace-filled alcove. The case up front typically holds 12 homemade gelatos, and next to it is a glass container filled with components that make this a home to one of the less-frequently seen versions of the ice cream sandwich.
Featured Dish: Off-the-Menu Ricotta Sandwich at Torrisi
GutterGourmet — April 09, 2010
The off-the-menu Spicy Turkey Breast Sandiwich with Lioni Whipped Ricotta, Roasted Bell Peppers, Spicy Peppers, and Spicy Pepper Spread at Torrisi Italian Specialties.
By now, you’ve heard about the Chicken Parm, and Turkey Sandwiches at Torrisi Italian Specialties, the little shop by chef-partners, Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, that is bringing Italian pride back to Mulberry Street. But there’s an off-the-menu option that Carbone recently told us about: a sandwich with Turkey, Ricotta and Peppers, both Spicy and Roasted.
AlwaysPartying: National Poultry Day
March 19, 2010
The Label Rouge Roasted Chicken Special at Del Posto.
National Poultry Day, a reason to celebrate duck, turkey, and egg dishes everywhere. And of course, chicken. Recently, New York Magazine picked Maialino as having New York’s best roasted chicken. It’s true that it is a great rendition. Jeff has been eating it for lunch on an abnormally regular basis. But, the most incredible chicken we have tasted in the last few months was a Label Rouge Roast Chicken at Del Posto that is on occasion available as a special. This is something that you need to look out for, and our pick for National Poultry Day.
If you’re lucky enough to be dining at Del Posto on a night when the Label Rouge Chicken is being offered as a special— order it. Words like tender, juicy, well-seasoned, they all apply. Yes, it was tender. Like a perfectly-cooked, medium rare pork chop. Juicy, as in, this meat self-bastes-juicy. Salty. Sure, but that good salty— as if suddenly, chicken had a bacon-like quality to it.
Featured Dish: Rustica Pizza
Arthur Bovino — March 08, 2010
Clockwise from top: Manducatis Rustica’s Rustica Pizza. The fireplace at the back of the dining room.
Manducatis has been a Long Island City stalwart almost uninterrupted since 1959. No one is saying it’s the City’s best Italian. But there is still something fun about walking through its non-descript door and into the cascading dining rooms that each feel like secrets. Development may have infiltrated Long Island City, but Manducatis’ owners, the Cerbones, have made their own progress in the past two years. Namely, when their daughter, Chef Gianna Cerbone opened her Italian café nearby: Manducatis Rustica.
There is a doll-house, but thrown together quality to Rustica’s decor. An old oven. Mismatching chairs. Brick walls. There’s a large open doorway to the kitchen. The layout takes a cue from Manducatis, with a working fireplace in the back of the first dining room.
You may have heard about their celebrated calzone, a sauce-covered $15.00 behemoth described as “a pizza folded over on itself.” But there’s also a list of brick oven, Neapolitan-style pizzas. The eponymous pizza pie, the Rustica ($13.00), is dressed with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, and a healthy pile of fresh arugula. The dough is chewy and pliable, if not necessarily very crisp. You could see how it would make for a good calzone. For dessert, there’s fresh gelato, and cannolis done the right way— plain or chocolate-dipped, but filled to order. Now that’s Italian…American.
Restaurant: Manducatis Rustica
Address: 46-33 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11101
Contact: (718) 937-1312
Hours: Mon-Thur, 12:00pm-9:00pm; Fri-Sat, 12:00pm-10:30pm; Sun, 12:00pm-8:30pm.
Featured Restaurant: The Meatball Shop
Arthur Bovino — February 10, 2010
Clockwise from top: Spicy Pork Meatballs with Spicy Meat Sauce over Rigatoni, Chicken and Salmon Meatball Sliders, Beef Meatball Hero, and White Beans.
Meatballs. Even if you didn’t grow up in an Italian-American household, just bringing the word up in conversations can kick off impassioned discussions that involve meat methodology, combination theorizing, and philosophizing about technique. But a restaurant dedicated solely to meatballs? That would have made my great-grandfather laugh. And that’s exactly what co-owners, Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, are going to do with The Meatball Shop, all the way to the bank.
Featured Brunch: Ballaro
GutterGourmet — February 05, 2010
Ham and Cheese Frittata with Prosciutto di Parma.
Your new go-to for Italian brunch should be Ballaro, the Italian café and wine bar on 2nd Ave near 4th Street, named after an historic, open-air market in Palermo, Sicily. Ballaro’s cappuccino with chocolate sprinkled over the foam is among the best in class. The brunch special is an offer that you simply cannot refuse.
Choose between either the freshly-made ham and cheese frittata, or the vegetable (mushrooms, spinach, peppers and artichoke). Both frittatas rival the Spanish tortilla at Boqueria. Plus you get a mesclun salad with tomatoes, a slice of melon and your choice of sliced prosciutto di Parma or Speck dell’Alto Adige. All for $10, including the cappuccino!
Alternatively, make your own sandwich using their gourmet larder of affettati (sliced meats) and formaggi. I’m lobbying to have them name the one I made after me. The “GutterGourmet” consists of: olive oil baked focaccia warmed on the panini press, with culatello, creamy burrata made with latte di bufala, and topped with sliced stuffed hot cherry peppers. Also comes with the salad and the cappuccino for $10. Grazie mille, Ballaro!
Top 5: Affogato
February 04, 2010
The Affogato: hot, bitter espresso poured over sweet ice cream. It’s a great meal-ender.
Affogato, it’s Italian for ‘drowned.’ Gelato drowned in hot espresso— coffee and dessert combined. Sounds like a simple dessert, right?
But there’s nuance involved in what constitutes a great affogato. What kind of espresso? What flavor gelato? Vanilla? No? What kind? And what’s the ratio of one to the other? Is there whipped cream, caramel or chocolate sauce? Toppings— sweet or salty variables scattered on top or served on the side? We kept all this in mind as we set out to find the City’s Top Five renditions.
Click here to find out Always Hungry’s Top 5 Affogato.
Have an idea for a Top 5? We’d love to hear from you. Go to the bottom of a Top 5 page and enter your suggestion into the “Suggest a Top 5” field along with your rankings and your email address.
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