Everybody gets a pass once in a while, right?
Last night, I enjoyed a delicious meal at Locanda Verde (377 Greenwich St), part of the Greenwich Hotel (of which Robert DeNiro is a partial owner), and I have no pictorial evidence. None. Nothing. Niente. Had no camera. No pictures to accompany snappy commentary. Nothing. I attempted taking them with my cell phone's not-so-sophisticated camera, but alas, they came out dark and dreary - the total opposite of my experience there.
So now you've been warned. Read on ahead, but know that I sadly do not have drool-inducing pictures to treat you to.
NOW: disclaimer out of the way, I knew Locanda Verde was a highly-anticipated place, a crowd of the sophisticated, hip, and in-the-know crowd. And despite its venerated chef, I was counting on the vibe to eclipse the food. I was wrong.
In its former life (in 2008), Locanda Verde, Italian for "green inn", was Ago. Let's just say it took a turn for the worse rather quickly. Fast forward to early 2009. There was a lot of confusion over who would step in to take over the failing Ago. Jean-Georges Vongerichten perhaps? No. Enter the brains behind some of New York's finest establishments to revamp the space, including Ken Friedman of the Spotted Pig and Josh Pickard of Chinatown Brasserie. Next, replace the chef with award-winning master French and Italian chef Andrew Carmellini (another partner in the GH, and of Café Boulud and A Voce fame), give the menu a face-lift by adding heaps of creative but still accessible cicchetti, appetizers and hearty primi and secondi, and you've got yourself one smashing restaurant. And smashing it was last night.
From the minute you approach this street corner restaurant and become engulfed by a constant hum of chatter and clatter, you know something great is going on inside. People wait outside; cabs come by every few minutes to drop off hungry people, outside tables buzz with lively conversation. Inside, it's a wonderful space: soaring, high ceilings, large mirrors sporadically placed throughout, wooden banquettes and tables, and a long, curved granite-top bar and leather bar stools-whose back wall is stacked with different wines and liquors proudly on display-that essentially divides the space in two: the front section with French doors open, spilling out into the street, and the back section, also with walls made of windows. The remaining walls are made up of brick, and the cool lighting provided by the low-slung metallic lights both contribute to making the whole space and vibe feel warm, relaxed, and inviting. But its restaurant du jour status and hour-plus waits (on a holiday weekend no less) make it a hip and buzzing scene, a cool Tribeca haunt that anyone would pass by and want to pop into to check out what's going on--and perhaps check out the celebs who frequently eat at the west side hotspot.
As for the eats, they main theme I found is that they embrace the strong presence of flavors. Nearly everything we ate was an explosion of flavor and strong tastes that lingered for a long while, without going overboard; not so big on subtlety.
What we noshed on:
To start, they give you complimentary focaccia bread, lightly covered in a simple tomato sauce, baked just until the edges become crisped. Soft, airy, touch of sweet. If this was delicious, I was drooling over how drool-tastic the other dishes would be.
-Sheep’s milk ricotta liberally sprinkled with sea salt, herbs and a touch of olive oil and perfectly toasted country bread. It was tangy, whipped, salty and delicious.
-Chicken liver crostino (didn't try it).
-Lamb meatball sliders, with a deliciously sweet tomato sauce, caprino cheese, and cucumber.
-Crispy (fried) artichokes, deconstructed and accented with crispy red peppers (I think) and an out-of-this-world yogurt and mint sauce (I haven't gone this nuts over a sauce since the cilantro sauce at The Palace or the chipotle chile vinaigrette at Mexicana Mama). The combination of the tangy, the minty, the creamy. I'll tell you what, I'm not the biggest fan of artichokes, but I am now.
-For my main, I ordered the pappardelle with a lamb ragu, ricottta cheese, and mint. It was rich with the lamb flavor, hearty, but at the same time smooth because of the creamy large dollop of ricotta on top. Bolognese sauces rarely get paired with a cheese like ricotta (only with toppers such as parmigiano reggiano and the like), but after last night's dish, I'm wondering why that is. It's an award winning pairing. Meaty and creamy. My only complain was that the plate wasn't bigger. :)
Other mains included:
-Fire-roasted garlic chicken for two (which, normally chicken isn't any restaurant's strong suit, but apparently it's one of the menu's biggest hits);
-Wood-fired broccoli rabe sausage and stuffed fagioli beans;
-Maltagliati with pesto and parmigianno-reggiano. Maltagliati means "badly cut", referring to this pasta that takes its shape from the scraps left over after other pastas have been made. Its rise in popularity has spurred the deliberate making of "badly cut" pasta. The pasta was cooked al dente (yes!), to perfection, and tossed generously with a pesto and parmigiano reggiano sauce. Surprising given that it contained pesto, but this was probably the least flavorful dish. The pesto, while tasty, was actually not overpowering. Next to all the deliberately pungent dishes, it was tough competition for this little guy.
To sum up: the food, delicious; the ambiance, winning. I liked the lamb pappardelle the best, but when (not if) I go back, I might just order the whole of the starters. That's where the real gioie are.
We were exploding from the explosion of foods and flavors that we sadly did not make it to the famed desserts by renowned pastry chef Karen DeMasco. But believe you me, along with my camera in tow--next time, my friends, next time.
Be happy and Carpe Diem!
No comments:
Post a Comment