L'ARTUSI: The Art of Eating Well
One of my favorite restaurants in New York City is Dell’Anima, a tiny jewel of a restaurant located in the West Village. I often take clients and friends there who have never heard of the restaurant and invariably, the reaction is always the same, “Wow! what an amazing place. How come I have never heard of it?” That is part of the charm and uniqueness of Dell’Anima, it is very well known among foodies in New York City but not so much amongst regular New Yorkers and those coming in from New Jersey or Long Island.
I had the fortune of meeting Joe Campanale, Dell’Anima’s Beverage Director and Partner and the former Sommelier at Babbo, about a month after its opening. I instantly became good friends with Joe and I continue to be amazed with his extensive knowledge and taste for wine. In fact, whenever Joe is in, I always insist that he choose the wines and pairs them with my dinner. I am an unabashed fan of Dell’Anima but despite my relationship with Joe, the size of the restaurant always made it difficult to secure Friday and Saturday night reservations for our clients.
I was therefore very happy when Joe informed me late last year that he and his partner, Chef Gabriel Thompson, were opening a new restaurant also in the West Village. L’Artusi opened its doors in late 2008 and I made it a point to be one of the first visitors to the new place. It is located on 10th Street (between Bleecker street and Hudson street) and it is a much larger restaurant than Dell’Anima. The restaurant seats 110 guests, features two floors of comfortable banquette seating, extended traditional bar, cheese bar and a chef’s counter over-looking the open kitchen. It also has a 2500 bottle walk-in wine cellar where you can host a private dinner.
I was very interested to see how the food would compare to the food at Dell’Anima. I was more than pleasantly surprised. We began by ordering the scallops with sea salt, olive oil and lemon and the grilled endive with pecorino cheese and citrus. Both appetizers where delicious, especially the scallops which were prepared in a very special way.
We then sampled the tagliatelle bolognese blanco, I am a huge fan of the tagliatelle bolognese at Dell’Anima, and the tajarin with hen of the woods mushrooms and asparagus. I was blown away once again by the freshness of the al dente tagliatelle. It is without a doubt one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had in my life. Joe has joked with me on occassion that many of his customers refer to the tagliatelle as edible crack, It is that addictive!
We then moved on to the main course and ordered the grilled octopus with potatoes, chillies, olives and pancetta and the hanger steak with crispy potatoes and salsa bianco. Both dishes were spectacular and the grilled octopus was cooked to perfection. As always Joe recommended some fantastic wines to pair with our meal that resulted in a truly memorable culinary experience.
The ambiance at L’Artusi is also fantastic. Even though it is a much larger restaurant than Dell’Anima, you still get the feel of a nice cozy restaurant with a wonderful crowd and service that makes you feel like family. Joe and Gabriel have done it again and I now have two great restaurants to choose from when I am looking to satisfy my craving for real, down to earth, sumptuous Italian food.
As always, if you need help in planning your next memorable experience, contact us at www.premiumlg.com.
Salute!
