Photo: wanderlustinthecity.com
I usually try to avoid places like this. It is on the corner of 6th avenue & Greenwich (touristy) and it’s Italian food (never thrills me). However, like so many places in New York once I gave it a chance I was shockingly surprised. The service, the food, and the ambiance satisfied all of my jaded New Yorker needs.
The space is incredibly warm and inviting. There is a beautiful outdoor patio with antique furniture and flowers everywhere you look. It’s as though you are dining in a lovely Italian garden (that just happens to be on an extremely busy street). The inside is open & airy. It’s a large space with an ample bar and a huge pizza oven in the center of the space. You can dine at the counter and watch the chefs make food, which I prefer. I love a show!
The food isn’t something I would call innovative, but that’s not why you go there. The menu has fantastic takes on traditional Neapolitan food. The pasta is fresh and the pizza comes to you right out of a hand crafted wood burning oven. If you can’t enjoy that, there’s something wrong with you. Everything you pick from the antipasti section will satisfy you. They have a beautiful take on a caprese and a stellar fig & prosciutto salad. We had the tagliatelle pasta which was perfectly chewy and coated with heavenly Bolognese. The cavatelli was overflowing with juicy sausage, broccoli rabe, and garlic. You can choose from a whopping 17 types of pizza and they even offer gluten free selections. I was pleasantly surprised. Here’s what we had:
Fichi - mission figs / prosciutto di parma / arugula / orange / ricotta
Caprese - heirloom tomatoes / burrata / basil / balsamic reduction
Cavatelli salsiccia e cima di rapa - fresh garlic / broccoli rabe / sausage / olive oil / chili flakes
Tagliatelle Bolognese - the classic preparation
Campagnola - mozzarella / prosciutto di parma / arugula / parmiggiano reggiano
