L’Artusi A Great Place to Dine
L'Artusi Restaurant West Village
I love friends visit because it forces you to get actually leave your apartment and explore New York City. And I love when my good friend from grad school, D. makes her annual trip back east. She currently lives in Austin with her husband and two adorable daughters in Austin (great city by the way.) D is stay at home mom now after working many years for Intel traveling like a fiend but as any mom knows especially stay at home moms, you need a break and hence her annual trip to visit family and friends in Boston and then to NYC.
What I love about D. is she is a foodie and when she comes to NYC, she picks the best restaurants that I have never been to and most likely will not get to. The place she chose for our dinner was L’Artusi in the West Village. I will be honest, I am so out of touch with the restaurant scene that I had never even heard of it, in fact I haven’t been to the West Village in about three years.
For those of you who are not aware, whether you call directly or use an online reservation service like Opentable.com, if you are trying ot get a reservation at hot restaurant and want the coveted 8:00 pm spot, you better call 30 days in advance otherwise you are relagated to eating at 6 pm or 10pm which was a our reservation. Early yes but got go with the flow.
L’Artusi is run by Gabe Thompson and Joe Campanele, who also own Dell’anima (another restaurant I have not frequented) and is located on with a non-descript door but once you go inside the first floor has an interesting layout, there is a bank of chairs along the left side of the restaurant which sounds odd but it’s set up so that if you arrive without a reservation, you can dine at the bar with your dinner partner and not have to wait for a table. Part of the banquette actually puts you front in center of the kitchen which is always fun to see the chefs cooking up the dinners. Apparently this bar/restaurant trend has proliferated the restaurant scene, who knew. I don’t like to eat alone talking to strangers, maybe I should given that when I walked in, there was an attractive man sitting by himself having dinner.
We were seated in the back under the stairs to the second floor (which I did not get a look at) in a half booth/half chair configuration. Because we arrived early and it was all about catching up, we hardly looked at the menu for about 20 minutes but the waiter was patient and because the restaurant had not filled up yet was not bugging us to order.
There was a wide range of options and since I am creature of habit, I always go for a dish that I would never have at home, braised short ribs. It was extremely delicious and filling so much so that I had leftovers. I love that the meat was extremely tender and the flavoring was just right. There was a wide range of options from Artic Char with chick peas and broccoli rabe to Autumn Squash Ravioli. I tasted the Ravioli and it was delightful, not too creamy or rich, just the right blend to keep the palate happy. Everyone at our table was happy with their choice, not one complaint and it is a tough crowd of foodies.
Sadly, I forgot to write down the wine choice but it was darn yummy and per the chief wine orderer and former waitress reasonably priced. In fact, all told the meal was only $60 per person which shocked me since we did have two bottles of wine, appetizers and dessert (sorry again on failing to mention those, I was too busy chatting and frankly, people start getting annoyed you are constantly taking pictures during a meal.)
Would I recommend or go back, Yes, indeed, I would.
Ah, I forgot to mention the crowd, trendy yes, well-dressed yes,good-looking yes, probably snooty yes. There was a time, I cared but alas no more, sort of, that’s another life.
And how was the staff? Very nice, friendly and chatty. I am sure there are still restaurants with snooty hostesses and waiters but it’s been awhile since I have come across one.
L’Artusi
228 W. 10th Street, near Bleeker St.
(212) 255-5757
http://lartusi.com/
Reservations suggested otherwise you will be a waiting.
Disclosure: No one paid for this post but me.
Category: Dining, Events/Travel/Performances/Dining
