ajadedidealist

Authentic Italian in NYC

So, as much as I love NYC Italian, it seems that most Italian restaurants in the city are high-end, Northern Italian, slightly pretentious places. Which is fantastic, if I'm in the mood for truffles -but I'm wondering about a good, old-fashioned, down-home, authentic, Southern Italian trattoria -plenty of pepperoncino, garlic, and olive oil! As someone who grew up partially in Rome, I'm also keen on traditional Roman dishes - fried artichokes, various cuts of offal (tripe, oxtail), and veal. Any suggestions for a charming, low-key trattoria as opposed to a high-end place?

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uptowngirl Jan 28, 2010

@ajadedidealist have you tried Sandro's on 81st Street between First and Second Avenues? Sandro Fioriti is a bear of a man who is a transplanted Roman. He does have a fried artichoke dish on his menu called Seppioline Con Carciofi which happens to be my regular order here. I love the place as I find the owners extremely congenial though some people seem to think its pricey and too noisy. You can expect to pay $100 for a meal for two people. Here's the review from nymag-http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/sandros/

hhusted Jan 28, 2010

Oh, you ladies. You are making me hungry with your talk about food. :) I love it. I am not into Italian food, but by the way you describe it, ajadedidealist, I will need to stop by.

BroadwayBK Jan 29, 2010

Are there any homey Italian places that are non-tourist traps (like many of those in Little Italy) and not too expensive? A place that just serves fabulous eggplant parm and maybe some spaghetti and meatballs? Seems like I haven't been to a place like that in ages. ajadedidealist is right - these days it's all about the truffles and the trends.

uptowngirl Jan 29, 2010

@BroadwayBk I went to a fantastic Italian in Alphabet City not too long ago the place is called Il Bugatto and the food is outstanding but prices are not cheaper than elsewhere in the city. I have heard good things about an area called Arthur Avenue, the little Italy in the Bronx-http://www.arthuravenuebronx.com/ and I am toying with the idea of heading out one of these days to check it out.

BroadwayBK Feb 01, 2010

@uptowngirl Thanks for the recommend. I'll add it to my list of places I need to try. Also, let me know if you ever try out that place in the Bronx; I doubt I'll make it all the way up there anytime soon.

ajadedidealist Feb 02, 2010

Mmm...Italian - how I'm craving it now! I've consistently been disappointed in Little Italy (Italian-American food sure is a niche of its own, but it's not quite the same as Italian food, I'd argue). Another restaurant I quite like is Orlogio, in the East Village - not sure if it's still around, but I remember fondly its lovely decor - the walls were brown and looked almost as if they were made out of clay, and it felt very Trattoria-esque!