Cuisine

Neighborhood

CUISINE: Italian
NEIGHBORHOOD: Meatpacking District, West Village

photo:Altacucinasociety.com

355 West 14th St. at 9th Ave

p: 212-691-0555

Last week Seth turned 24, and I thought it was appropriate to celebrate with $24 pasta.  Scarpetta made some noise when it arrived on the restaurant scene in the summer of 2008 — Adam Platt called it "priestly" — but I haven't heard much about it since, most likely because it's pricey and is consistently packed with white haired couples and their grown children.  Seriously, Scarpetta is the place to take your parents (and their parents) when they're in town to see Rain next month.  But if an older checkbook isn't going to front the bill, it's a great celebratory destination worth the spend.CONT'D

Wooden walls, black chairs and minimalist lighting create an almost Japanese/sushi feel. There are place-mats in favor of white tablecloths but the service is attentive and serious. It took two waiters to serve our appetizers —creamy polenta with truffled mushrooms and seared scallops — and when I spilled polenta onto my plate it was swapped out, mid-bite, by another, different waiter. No games, here. (And the apps were awesome.)

While the atmosphere might be stiff, the food is warm and comforting. Scarpetta's bread basket trumps any bread basket I've ever had. There must have been six huge chunks of bread in there, including a hot prosciutto roll that was an insanely delicious cross between focaccia and pizza; it took a severe amount of will-power not to order more, and more, and more. 

The $24 spaghetti with tomato and basil was, please believe, actually worth it.
It's simple, for sure, but ask yourself when's the last time spaghetti and red sauce tasted that good.  It's a conversation started in itself. For entrees, Seth and I both wanted to try the roasted sirloin, but felt guilty after a night of heavy meat-eating at Hill Country the day before, so we settled for the branzino, which was perfectly nice, though not rave-worthy. The flourless chocolate cake and homemade orange gelato, on the other hand, deserves a round of applause. 

All in all, Scarpetta gets an enthusiastic seal of approval from us. We hope to return soon.

Posted in FOOD on November 23, 2010 1:14pm by Jena Steinbach | 44 comments

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We are young (early 20's) and hungry (for knowledge! music! art! food!) friends living on (or in areas which border) Manhattan. We moved to the city seeking higher education, and an alternative to frat parties and gin buckets. We prefer a bottle of Chianti to a keg, lunches at City Bakery to a dining hall, Joe's to Starbucks, Frankie's Amatriciana to Batali's. Our uniting factor is our love for food. For detailed, personal information, keep reading.
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