Wife and I will be in Manhattan next month for a few days, staying in the Wall Street area, plan to visit the 911 museum and a few other things. We don’t mind cabbing around.
Looking to find an informal Ital restuarant; Inoteca was recommended but I see that has closed. Il Buco was also recommended but that has spotty reviews. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Locanda Verde is number one on the list followed by Perla and L’Artusi. If you’re feeling crazy add Lupa and Babbo. Although in all candor, I think that Babbo is the most overrated restaurant in NYC.
I’ll add Peasant in Lower East Side for great Neapolitan, brick oven pizza and excellent rustic porchetta dish (successfully did it before Maialino did theirs’) and very nice delicious pasta dishes. Corkage was $25 per some time ago (call to confirm), but their wine list is roubust enough, imho, at all price points.
Also at Barbone in the East Village. A local’s neighborhood gem with a great, great $43 5-course meal. $25 per bottle, but can be generous with “under-charging” on the corkage when you get your bill (ymmv, I suspect).
All the food is good, but the Pizzoccheri Valtellinesi, Buckwheat Tagliatelle, Savoy Cabbage, Casera Cheese, Potatoes and Garlic is a very special dish from the Valtellina that is rare to find like this in the US.
We had a great dinner at Babbo last month. The experience was better than the Del Posto fussiness and the food was excellent.Upstairs is much quieter than the main floor.
I also had a great experience at Babbo - want to try something new. Paprika looks interesting - anybody else try it?
Peasant looks pretty cool as well.