AlwaysParting: NY Sake Week

Jeff Zalaznick — May 31, 2009

The day has finally come, an entire week dedicated to doing nothing but drinking Sake. Starting today and running through Friday (June 1-5), more than a hundred restaurants will be participating in the first New York Sake Week. The event, organized by Monica Samuels, Sake Ambassador for Southern Wine and Spirits, will be marked by special food pairings, tastings, and educational events.

Here is a list of the participating restaurants that are AlwaysHungryNY Approved:

1. 15 East
2. Bao Noodles
3. Chinatown Brasserie
4. Churrascaria Plataforma
5. Churrascaria Plataforma TriBeCa
6. Double Crown
7. Ed’s Lobster Bar
8. Elettaria
9. Greenwich Grill
10. Harbour
11. Matsuri
12. Megu TriBeCa
13. Public
14. Sakagura
15. Shang
16. Soba Totto
17. Sushi Ann
18. SushiSamba 7th
19. SushiSamba Park
20. Tse Yang
21. Woo Lae Oak

SEARCH: Fun, Drunken, College Flashback?

March 10, 2009

Use our very advanced search engine to always find the perfect place. Want to have a fun, drunken, college flashback just like old times? Here’s what’s AlwaysHungry Approved in the Downtown East area.

1. Chinatown Brasserie 380 Lafayette Street

Recommended Dishes: Spare Ribs, Dim Sum, Peking Duck

2. Il Bagatto 192 E. 2nd Street

Recommended Dishes: Buffalo Mozzarella, Penne all’Arrabbiata, Fusilli Campagnola, Brick Cooked Chicken

3. Spitzer’s Corner 101 Rivington Street

Recommended Dishes: Truffle Mac & Cheese, Hickory Short Rib Burger

4. Sunburnt Cow 137 Avenue C

Recommended Dishes: Cow Salad, Burger with the Lot, Beer-Battered Fish & Chips

5. SushiSamba Park 245 Park Avenue South

Recommended Dishes: Big Eye Tuna Tataki Salad, Yellowtail Seviche, Pacific Roll

6. The Smith 55 3rd Avenue

Recommended Dishes: Brooklyn-Style Crispy Calamari, Alsatian Pizza, Mac & Cheese

7. Wildwood Barbecue 225 Park Avenue South

Recommended Dishes: Bottle Caps, Kicked-Up Caesar Salad, Beef Short Ribs, Jailhouse Chili

Interview: Leyla Marchetto of Scuderia

Arthur Bovino — March 10, 2009

There’s a new Italian trattoria in the West Village, Scuderia, right across from Da Silvano. This chic, but casual, bar/restaurant is the creation of Team Scuderia: famed restaurateur, Silvano Marchetto; his daughter, Leyla; his long-time manager, Alessandro Bandini; and friend and musician, Fabrizio Sotti. In anticipation of last night’s opening, AlwaysHungry stopped in to talk with Leyla about her new place.

AHNY: How would you define Scuderia’s concept?

LM: The concept is a casual, modern day New York version of an Italian trattoria and bar. You know, it’s not the old world kind of Mom and Pop looking trattoria but it’s casual, we have some of these stools that are more enoteca style. I call them our East Village shout out because they remind me of East Village wine bars. So it’s more casual, more moderately priced, and I think we’re reaching out to some of the clientele that doesn’t actually go to Da Silvano, you know, younger people, or people who can’t afford it. So then we’re able to, in the vicinity of two hundred feet, attract customers, you know, in addition to some overlap that I’m sure we will have. Hopefully we’ll get customers for breakfast and then they’ll take their clients there for lunch or dinner. There’s some overlap, but the menu is very different.

We’re calling it casual Italian comfort food with some American twists. There’s a brioche grilled cheese that has speck and rosemary in it and there’s the Scuderia Hamburger, a luscious, yummy burger with Tuscan fries…

AHNY: Tell me more about the Hamburger della Scuderia…

LM: It is a beef brisket burger, so it’s like heavenly, the right salty juiciness from the brisket. It comes with caramelized onions that are cooked with cilantro and jalapeño. And then it has Monterrey Jack cheese, and it’s served on a toasted sesame bun. It’s really good. It’s very juicy. It’s not a little burger.

AHNY: So what would you consider Scuderia’s signature dishes?

LM: I would say, the Pizza Scuderia. It’s strong. I would recommend that as a sharing item. I mean you can have entire pizza but it’s fig jam, blue cheese and speck, so it’s kind of strong. I would recommend that for sharing. The other one that’s really good, pizza-wise, the Occhio di Bue, translates to Bull’s-eye, in Italian and it’s pizza that has mozzarella and pecorino and then there is pancetta and spinach and then an egg is cooked in the middle of it. And when you cut it…it’s everyone’s favorite.

And then Claudio Cristofoli, the chef, is from Venice, and then Fabrizio is from Padova, so there’s kind of influences from different areas of Italy. The Arancini di Riso, It’s two fried rice balls with pecorino inside, that come in this terracotta kind of thing with tomato sauce underneath it and they have a bit of the braised beef cheeks in them so there’s meat and cheese and they’re warm…I’ve probably had six rice balls in the last four days.

I would also say pasta-wise, I’m kind of partial to the beef cheek ragù. I should kind of switch to another one shouldn’t I? Oh, the squid ink noodles with the seafood is amazing. So there’s black squid ink, a teeny bit spicy, tomatoes, seafood, like there’s mussels and different types of fish…amazing…To go away from the carbs, Claudio makes this skirt steak with three different dipping sauces…The skirt steak is marinated, so soft, ahead the night before and then it comes with these three little sauces. One’s green, one’s red, and one’s yellow. You dip it in and it’s amazing and it’s so tender.

And you could get some of the sides—grilled polenta, I really like. Kind of crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

Dessert-wise I can give you one really good dessert that’s fabulous. Everyone has had a good response. Instead of tiramisu it’s called a “Tiramelosu”. And it’s a deconstructed tiramisu. So it comes on a cutting board and there are a couple of ladyfingers. There’s an espresso and there’s the zabaglione. So you dip it in and kind of do your own thing. And, it’s really, really good. And I’ve never seen that anywhere. I don’t know if it comes from somewhere in Italy or if he invented it but it’s amazing…[Also,] I would have the Pizza with Nutella and mascarpone for dessert. It’s like a mini 6-inch pizza with a thin layer of Nutella, a little bit of melted mascarpone dusted with sugar and it’s heavenly. Also, good for breakfast with coffee, cause I just had a piece.

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