The last time I went to NYC I heard so much about this italian, neighborhood restaurant in Tribeca, that I wanted to try it to see what the fuzz was about; however, it was full for most of the days I was there. This time, I made reservations one week before arriving (they accept walk ins as well but the place is so full you could probably wait up to two hours). The restaurant is Locanda Verde, and the name was the thing that attracted me the most, Locanda means “inn” in english, and the owners describe it as “a local spot to eat, and drink, and stay over if you want to;” so you can see the resemblance to what I write on this blog. And of course, the fact that the chef has cooked in one of my favorite restaurants in the city (Gramercy Tavern, which I will make a post about it soon) and Robert De Niro is one of the owners, you can’t get it wrong with him.
I set foot in Locanda Verde and I have found a perfect cozy, local, casual restaurant with one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in my life. The place was packed, it has a large bar and a coffee shop within the restaurant, which closes during dinner. The menu is relatively small but it has something for everyone, from classic italian appetizers, to pastas, duck, chicken, and fish. We ordered a crab and avocado crostini with jalapeño (recommended by the waiter, said it was the specialty of the house) it was outstanding, the bread was crunchy but really easy to eat and the crab had a lot of flavor but not overwhelming. We also had steamed mussels which were too salty for me but good, a steamed branzino with clams, fennel, a sort of shrimp croquettes (but steamed nor fried, they were surprisingly good with a kind of a dumpling texture) in a saffron and lobster broth. The dish was a little heavy in terms of flavor, but the combination made perfect sense at the end of the bite. Also we order a pasta dish, all of the pasta is hand made in the restaurant, it was amazing!! The dish was a rigatoni, exactly al dente exquisitely cooked, in a spicy tomato sauce with braised pork. I though it was going to be too much because of the pork, but it was perfect, the pork was tender and juicy, the sauce was spicy but the sweetness of the tomatoes made really good balance, every bite in this dish made me want to remember Locanda Verde and come back for more of Chef Andrew Carmellinis’ treasures. The only bad thing about my experience was that I ate too much I didn’t leave space for dessert, but that’s a good excuse to visit again. Everything about this place was wonderful, the food, the drinks, the staff, and the ambiance, so casual and romantic at the same time. Hope your experience is a fantastic as mine when you visit!!!
Ratings:
Price: $$$
Ambiance: Completely casual, no dress code.
Staff: Friendly
Overral: A must visit in NYC.
Desde el momento en el que entré a Locanda Verde, supe que había encontrado el perfecto restaurante local, acogedor y causal con la mejor pasta que he probado en mi vida. El lugar estaba muy lleno (como era de esperarse), tienen una barra muy grande y una pequeña cafetería que cierra por las noches y forma parte del restaurante para la cena. El menú es relativamente pequeño pero tiene de todo, desde entradas clásicas italianas, pastas, pato, pollo y pescado. Por recomendación del mesero, ordenamos de entrada un crostini de cangrejo, aguacate y jalapeño (especialidad de la casa), estaba espectacular, el pan estaba crujiente pero muy fácil de comer, el cangrejo delicioso y muy suave se derretía en la boca. También pedimos de entrada unos mejillones al vapor con salami italiano y jitomate, un poco salados para mi gusto pero ricos. De plato fuerte nos comimos un branzino (lubina italiana) al vapor con unas croquetas de camarón, almejas y eneldo en un caldo de azafrán con langosta; el platillo estaba un poco fuerte en cuanto a sabores, pero combinaban perfectamente. Además pedimos una pasta (todas las pastas del restaurante están hechas en casa), el platillo estaba delicioso. La pasta era rigatoni, cocinada al dente perfectamente, en una salsa picante de tomate con carne de puerco braseado. Pensamos que el platillo iba a estar pesado por el puerco, pero realmente nos sorprendió, el puerco estaba muy suave y jugoso y la salsa un poco picante pero se mezclaba muy bien con lo dulce de los tomates. Lo único malo de mi experiencia en Locanda Verde fue que comí tanto que no tuve espacio suficiente para probar los postres, pero es una buena razón para regresar a este maravilloso lugar acogedor y romántico. Espero que su experiencia en este lugar, si es que lo visitan, sea tan buena como la mía!!
Ratings:
Precio: $$$
Ambiente: Casual, no hay dress code.
Servicio: Excelente
En general: Tienen que ir si están en NY.
Localdiggz 