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‘Tis March,
the month which comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb,
but somehow we prefer the lovelier and more anatomically specific
comes in with an adder's head, and goes out with a peacock's
tail! Unpredictable March: to the Italians, marzo
is pazzo, the crazy month. This Winter we’ve written about
Waterzooi,
Brillat-Savarin,
about the cold weather charms of
Alsatian food, but
now, we’ve been thinking about the Italy of the imagination, where
the lion lies down with the lamb, where Winter has no hold on
us...we’re moving South, bypassing France with its codified
cuisine to the sensual, impetuous, personal cucina of Italy.
We find
ourselves returning again and again to
Gusto
Ristorante e Bar Americano, long a foodie destination with its
classic menu, the emphasis on seasonal ingredients. An unlikely,
unexpected oasis on angled Greenwich Avenue which is a border of sorts,
where the whimsical streets of old New York merge with the ordered
grid of Manhattan. The décor pays aesthetic homage to Italian films from the
50s and 60s with its retro dark minimalist palette: black and
white, dark woods, chic chocolate leather banquettes, menu covers
with a grainy black-and-white photograph of Anita Ekberg from
La Dolce Vita, a long
elegant bar, and an enormous
glittering chandelier as centerpiece.
The gastronomical
surprises start before one orders with a sampling of
Radishes with
Bagna Cauda—a “hot bath” of olive oil, anchovies, and
garlic that with all its contrasting flavors brings out the subtle sweetness and crunch of the
radishes. It’s a signature dish, legacy of the original chef Jody
Williams. There are some excellent appetizers, including carciofi
alla giudea, succulent baby artichokes fried to almost charred
perfection—even the stems melt luxuriously, too quickly—and polipetti alla griglia,
octopus made delicious with celery & black
olive. Executive chef Saul Montiel has recently taken the reins
back from Ryan Lowder, and the fare remains classic with rustic
seasonal touches. The polpettine alla siciliana (Sicilian
meatballs with pine nuts & raisins in a tomato sauce) is a
delicious take on an old standby, could hardly be improved upon.
Pappardelle al ragu’ di bue fatti in casa an oxtail ragu with the
fresh pappardelle cooked perfectly al dente, the ragu spiced just
enough to provide a slight kick to the evening. If you are in the
mood for seafood, there’s a marvelous branzino con salsa di
salmoriglio seasoned to perfection with lemon, thyme, pepper
flakes and garlic. Or in keeping with the time of the year, one
could have a stinco di agnello, classic slow-braised lamb shank!
But there is also the pleasure of staying in
and cooking
Italian food--simple, sensual, open to adaptation and
interpretation. Where to begin:
Marcella
Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
perhaps a good place to start;
Mario
Batali's Simple Italian food: Recipes From My Two Villages, (the
two villages here are Borgo Capanne and Greenwich Village), and the
book which he describes as “Italian in sensibility, but made of
local ingredients -- some never used in classical Italian cooking”
has brilliantly simple yet divine variations on bruschetta, figs
cooked with gorgonzola.... Or take a culinary journey around Italy
with
Lidia
Bastianich’s Lidia’s Italy.
Best places to buy Italian
ingredients in New York?
Salumeria
Rosi where one can get
authentic pane Toscana, as well as excellent guanciale, and if you want to
buy grano de tenero to make your own pasta, or buy the best fresh
pasta there is
Buon Italia
and
DiPalo's.
Out with a peacock's tail!
Eat:
Gusto
Ristorante e Bar Americano
Shop for
Ingredients:
Salumeria
Rosi,
Buon Italia,
DiPalo's.
Cook:
Marcella
Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Cook:
Mario
Batali's Simple Italian food: Recipes From My Two Villages
Cook:
Lidia
Bastianich’s Lidia’s Italy
Recipe:
Jody Williams
recipe for Radishes with Bagna Cauda
Tags:
food travel italy
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