L’Artusi can officially go on our list of favorite restaurants in this town. A few things stand out as qualifications for such an honor – outstanding and consistent food, great service, good music, and some ancillary entertainment since we can’t sit still. Let’s address each individually. L’Artusi is the sister restaurant to Dell’anima, and it’s the larger, louder sister for sure. The cuisine is Italian, and it’s the kind of Italian cooking that’s not afraid to go heavy on big flavors like garlic, lemon, olives, chiles, and fat to win your favor. Not that it’s unrefined – these are some of the most well thought out and beautiful plates we’ve had the pleasure of eating at an indecent pace. The service is fantastic, from the hosts to the bartenders to the guy getting crazy at the cheese counter. Music get’s an A+ with Santogold and Kid Cudi in the mix on current and upbeat playlists. As for entertainment, that comes in the form of excellent people watching. There is always a good mix of dates in various stages of progression, generally hot people, and a celebrity here and there to pretend you don’t notice. Not to mention one night when some dude spent three minutes violently pounding on the bathroom door that he couldn’t push his way out of, despite the massive “pull please” directly in front of his face. Yes, L’Artusi gets a ridiculously high rating, but we stand by it. It hits all the Immaculate Infatuation erogenous zones, and the roasted mushroom dish alone is worth a boatload of points.
A Voce just received a Michelin Star which, in case you were wondering, is a huge deal in the restaurant world. A friend recently said to me, “one day, you will need to explain to me the connection between tires and good food.” I can do no such thing. What I can do is tell you that A Voce turns out some incredible Italian. It’s definitely fine dining, it will definitely hit you hard in the wallet, and it’s definitely full of suits from the New York Life building next door, but no matter – the food coming out of that kitchen is amazing. The vibe is upscale modern, and while we were blown away by the service and the food, the music is atrocious. Smooth jazz permeates the room and makes you suddenly feel like you’re eating ravioli in John Tesh’s living room. Someone needs to sort that out ASAP. We would be happy to make suggestions. Otherwise, A Voce is firing on all cylinders. Our waiter made excellent recommendations and from appetizer to entree, most everything on the menu is phenomenal. We recommend any and all of the homemade pastas, and the roasted trumpet mushroom appetizer is straight-up unbelievable. This is another one of those spots best saved for special occasions, or any time you feel the need to drop some chang on a serious meal.
Whether or not you are a fan of Lucali seems to come down to two things – how long you had to wait for your table, and how you were treated in the process. The few people that have told us this place is overrated complained not about the pizza, but had beef because the sarcastic Brooklyn girl up front wasn’t so nice to them. We get it – we have definitely been on the receiving end of some half-serious abuse from a Lucali waitress. As a matter of fact, I believe I was officially banned from the restaurant last time because I asked twice about the toppings.
Honestly though, for us that’s all part of the game. Yes, it can be annoying to deal with an unpredictable situation, but for a pizza this good, we’re willing to deal with it. It’s all about knowing what to expect going in, and understanding that you might not end up with a table, no matter what they told you twenty minutes ago. Want to save yourself some disappointment? Don’t bring your fiance’s parents here. Don’t come without a backup plan. Don’t bring a date that you’re trying to impress with your restaurant game. Don’t try to hit Lucali before you have to catch a flight, report for military service, or do anything else that you can’t be late for. But if you’re down to just grab a bottle of wine, show up at 6pm, and pray that you get a table, you might be diving into some of the best pizza this city (and therefore Planet Earth) has to offer. Read below for what might be the shortest food rundown in Infatuation history – your options are pizza or calzone. Order both.
Marea definitely needs some good Infatuation press…they haven’t gotten much love lately. Makes you wonder if people around these parts have even heard of it. I mean, it’s only been awarded Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation. While we haven’t yet logged enough hours on the road to make that kind of statement, we can definitely say that Chef Michael White makes some of the best pasta in New York City. That would be a bold statement if everyone on earth wasn’t also saying it.
Marea is one of those restaurants, like Eleven Madison Park, you walk into knowing damn well it’s going to be incredible. The food, especially the aforementioned pasta, is exquisite. A few of the dishes, including the lobster burrata, the fusili with octopus (and bone marrow), and the steak are among the best things we’ve eaten all year. Service is top notch as well – the staff know the menu inside and out, and they take excellent care of you. But for all that talk about pasta, it’s good to know this: Marea is a Quality Fish restaurant first, Italian restaurant second. To properly indulge, you’ve gotta be willing to strap on the scuba gear and eat whatever swims your way.
There are two ways to approach a Marea experience, and both are the tasting menu…it just depends on what time of day you want to eat like a baller. For lunch, the two course $42 tasting menu is a steal. That’s a better deal than what you find at most boring ass midtown business lunch destinations. Dinner is almost affordable at $89 a person for a four course tasting menu and a meal of this caliber. Ordering a la carte is always an option as well, but with such a deep menu, you’re going to be better served trying as many things as possible.
Restaurants like Torrisi are the reason that we spend all of our free time eating and writing about food. If you enjoy consuming as much as we do and aren’t held down by underdeveloped taste buds, allergies or religious beliefs, you’re going to love Torrisi Italian Specialties.
By day, Torrisi is the best new sandwich shop in Manhattan. Eat in or take out a gangster roast turkey or chicken parm. At night, all twenty seats are available for $50 a pop, at one of three frustratingly tough to attain prix fixe seatings: 6pm, 7:45pm and 9:30pm. The catch is, there are no reservations. The restaurant opens at 6:00, and it’s first come, first serve. People start lining up to stake their claim on a seating around 5:30. If someone in your party can get there early, you’ll have the pick of the litter. But by 6:30, it’s not uncommon for the restaurant to be sold out for the night. You can always roll the dice and do a drive by – just be prepared for rejection. Luckily, Nolita is stacked and you can always try your luck at Public, Peasant, Cafe Gitane or Café Habana if you can’t get in. We’d been trying to get here for a while now, but it’s a hard place to plan for unless getting out of work early isn’t a problem and your night is wide open.
If you’re lucky enough to score a seat, your only choice will be between two entrees, usually a fish and a meat, and which bottle of fairly priced wine to pair with it. Other than that, your fate is in the hands of the kitchen. Four small appetizers arrive at the table, one at a time, followed by a pasta, main and dessert. It sounds like a lot, but really, it’s the perfect amount of food. The service is excellent, food outstanding and overall experience truly unique. In theory, a prix fixe dinner at a low key Italian sandwich shop might not seem like something to get in line for, but trust us, it is. It’s all worth it.
