Last night at Locanda Verde, Josh Ozersky was chowing down with B.R. Guest honcho Steve Hanson as well as LaFrieda’s Mark Pastore. Eater’s Amanda Kludt was apparently also there, and while that’s not quite the food-industry storm that has descended on Marea (recent tweet: “Marea roll call: Anna Wintour, Gael Greene, Gail Simmons, Barry Wine, Mike Stillman, The Glaziers, Wylie Dufresne, Mark Ladner”), it’s clear Carmellini’s venture is off to a good start. We can only second Ozersky’s hearty approval, though we’re not sure we can go near the spaghetti’s lamb amatriciana after hearing it described as “really potent and ballsy.” What we did love was the note on the bottom of the giant paper menu that read like a jab at absentee chefs: “Cooking Today: Andrew Carmellini & Luke Ostrom.” And we were also delighted to discover that, through some sliding doors by the restaurant’s open kitchen, there’s a spacious private dining room complete with giant stone fireplace (it’s where Carmellini and Ostrom fed De Niro and Keitel during tastings). And even better, past that there’s a beautiful, incredibly romantic courtyard with brick arches towering above.
Right now the courtyard is only being used for the hotel’s guests-only lobby bar, the Drawing Room (it was designed by Sean MacPherson and Eric Goode and closely resembles their other time capsule, the Bowery Hotel’s lobby), but we’re told that once the sailing is smooth indoors, the restaurant may also start seating people outside. At which point we will be here every night. We showed you a menu without prices before, but here were last night’s offerings, complete with pastry chef Karen DeMasco’s desserts.
Piccolini
Eggplant – Calabrese with mint - $6
Wild mushrooms – agro dolce with garlic – 7
Jersey Asparagus with oregano and orange – 7
Marinated Beets with pecorino and walnuts – 6
Chicken Liver crostino with vin santo and sultanas – 6
Blue Crab crostino with jalapeño and tomato – 9
Sheep’s Milk Ricotta with sea salt and herbs – 9
Antipasti
Gabagoul & Grana – 14
Mediterranean Sardines in saor – 13
Rabbit Terrina with sour cherry mostarda – 15
Tosta della Casa with sergio’s marinated vegetables – 12
Arugula Insalata with almonds, green apple, and pecorino – 11
Locanda Salad with dandelion, bottarga, and a soft egg – 12
Wood-Fired King Prawns with garlic, lemon and sweet pepper – 13
Lamb Meatball sliders with a caprino and cucumber – 11
Tripe alla Parmigiana with a fried organic egg – 14
Calamari Ripieni with polenta and chorizo – 14
Crispy Artichokes with yogurt and mint – 13
Pasta
Spaghetti with lamb amatriciana – 15
Fettucine Verde with white Bolognese – 16
Malfatti with pesto and Parmigiano-reggiano – 14
Fiorentini with Sunday night ragu and provolone picante – 18
Homemade Farfalle with clams, sweet pepper and chorizo – 17
Robiolo Ravioli with spring mushrooms and vermouth – 17
Secondi
Roasted Trout with new potatoes and giallo sauce – 19
Charcoal-Grilled Bass with scampi and zucchini – 26
Sea Scallop Pugliese with rapini and chickpeas – 24
Wood-Fired Broccoli Rabe Sausage with fagioli stufato – 19
Grilled Hanger Steak with pastore potatoes and peperonata – 25
Beef Short Ribs in sugo cacciatore with cavolini – 26
Fire-roasted Garlic Chicken for Two – 19 per person
Porchetta the way I like it – 22
Contorni
Organic Broccoli – modo mio – 6
Yellow Wax Bean with lemon, almond and mint – 7
Rustic Potatoes with garlic and parmigiano-reggiano – 6
Dolce
Toasted Almond Semifreddo (bing cherries) – 8
Raspberry-Pistachio Cake (raspberry stufato, fior di latte) – 9
Lemon Tart (buttermilk gelato, limoncello granita) – 8
Sheeps’ Milk Ricotta Panna Cotta (strawberries and rhubarb) – 9
Chocolate Torta (spiced caramel, cardamom gelato) – 9
La Fantasia di Tropicale for Two (ginger gelato, lime granita, white chocolate crema, passion fruit caramel, champagne mango, golden pineapple, coconut cake) – 15
Karen’s Homemade Biscotti Misti – 8
Gelati (rice custard, malted milk chocolate, hazelnut) – 7
Sorbetti (cherry, rhubarb, coconut) – 7
Formaggi
Caprino Capra, Bosino Robbiola, Meadow Creek Dairy Grayson, Salva Cremosa, Gorganzola Dolce, Quadrello di Bufala, Blue di Moncensio
One - 5
Three – 12
Five – 15
Seven - 19
