Italian
Scarlatto in Times Square
Scarlatto in Times Square
Inside Scarlatto
A good restaurant in Times Square is almost an anomaly. If I need to find something near midtown, I’ll usually resort to something down 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen. When I was trying to find a place to meet my friend Sheryl, I thought I’d hunt for something that would be close to her work and my apartment. I have an ongoing list of restaurants I keep handy that I haven’t been to, but none of them fell in midtown. So I began scouring restaurants on MenuPages.com, and came across Scarlatto, and Italian restaurant on 47th, near Broadway. The prices were surprisingly decent for the area, so I was already suspicious. I went over to Yelp and checked out some pictures and decided it was worth a try.
Fried Calamari With Crispy Zucchini, $9
It has a cozy, pleasant interior that’s somewhere midway between being formal with their decked-out-in-white tables, but still casual with large framed prints of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. We started with the fried calamari and crispy zucchini. I’ve had better calamari, and the zucchini tasted like chips but combination was still satisfying, and helped to appease our ravenous appetite right then.
Fettuccine Ai Funghi, $14
Ravioli Di Zucca, $12
The Daily Show: Jon Stewart on Trump/Palin and New York Pizza
I was going to save this for Friday’s links, but I can’t get over The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart rant on Donald Trump’s NY (underwhelming) pizza joint of choice with Sarah Palin recently…hilarious!:
Luzzo’s Pizzeria in the East Village
Luzzo's Pizzeria (photo credit: Luzzo's)
Contrary to what you might think, there’s not a lot of pizza places I really love out here. I think my Midwestern roots keep me from loving thin crust as much as I should (although not gonna lie, you will probably never see me refuse a slice). I tried Luzzo’s in the East Village a few months ago with friends, and I actually really enjoyed the thicker crust of the brick over pizza that you find here.
The Bufala: tomato sauce, bufala mozzarella, basil
Funghi: tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, basil
The size of the pies are not huge, but the slices are thick so don’t let it fool you…two pies easily fed four people with some slices to spare. If you can handle spice, be sure not to forget to use the red pepper oil to dip your slices in.
Red pepper oil -- this thing is brilliant
Pastas at Patsy’s – Greenwich Village
If you ever need a quick solution for a group dinner, the family style portions of Italian dishes Patsy’s (a chain in NYC) are not only generous but just so delicious. On a recent visit, my friends wanted to order the Penne alla Vodka, but I was rooting for the Pappardelle alla Toscana (pappardelle with sun-dried tomatoes, wild mushrooms, aged parmigiano and pecorino cheese in a creamy sauce). I lost over a game of rock, paper, scissors though and we ordered the penne. I was actually surprised at how tasty the seemingly simple dish was. I normally find some of the Italian restaurants to be more of the same, but here, I think the brick-oven pizzas and pastas are quality, not too expensive, and FILLING. A great combo.
Penne alla vodka, $33
Spinach ravioli, $33
Dinner at Emporio and dessert at Balaboosta in Nolita
Candle lit back room at Emporio
I actually found out about the quaint Roman-style trattoria Emporio in Nolita through my friend Archana’s blog at LettuceVeg.com. She took much better pictures than I did with my camera too, but I’m glad I went on her recommendation because everything we had was delicious. Plus, I was obsessed with the candle-lit back room where we had our little girls night. The middle of the space has communal tables. Though, if you want more privacy, the booths along the sides have curtains you can pull on either side so you block out the distractions.
Ricotta Ravioli, $16
Malatesta Trattoria – West Village
Last week marked my second visit to Malatesta Trattoria, the first being my birthday earlier this year. It’s a quaint, super cozy Italian restaurant with Italian waiters and deliciously authentic food. Both times I couldn’t help myself and get their homemade gnocchi. They make a special spinach gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. I’m a lover of cheese, but the gorgonzola might be strong if you’re not — but also, in which case you can order their regular gnocchi with tomato basil. I haven’t had that dish myself, but having tried many of their dishes the last time I was here, I can bet it’s probably just as delicious.
Spinach Gnocchi, $13
After we were done ogling our neighbors food, my friend Lauren ordered the same dish — the grilled tilapia which was the special of the day.
Grilled Tilapia (special of the day)
