Justin and I recently
went to L’Artusi twice in seven days. We coincidentally had a Hanukkah brunch
with family and a holiday dinner with friends, both at the same West Village
eatery.
L’Artusi is another West
Village restaurant with scrumptious food. I don’t love the décor. (My friend
Brian and I decided that the look is 1970’s casino bar meets French bathroom meets front porch.)
However the quality food and excellent service make up for the restaurant’s
shortcomings in design.
For brunch I recommend
starting with the Assorted Fresh Pasties Basket. It’s not your typical
breakfast breadbasket. The fresh loaves and pastries are amazing. I also
recommend the L’Artusi Scramble with pecorino, broccoli rabe and crispy
potatoes. Justin recommends the L’Artusi Breakfast with two fried eggs, roasted
mushrooms, crispy potatoes, sausage, bacon, roasted tomato and toast. The
Bloody Marys were… interesting. My future sister-in-law (woohoo!!!) pointed out
that they tasted a bit carbonated. The waitress remarked on her discerning
palette and explained that they put some sort of ale/beer in the L’Artusi
Bloody. So if that’s not your thing, go for a Mimosa instead.
Our holiday dinner was a
larger party with a pre-selected menu. The Holiday Dinner is a new tradition
among Justin’s high school friends and their significant others, all of whom
have become my close companions. We opted for a four course family style dinner
with unlimited beer and wine. Needless to say it was a feast. And it was
delicious. See below for the menu –
Antipasti:
FLUKE CEVICHE pear,
pumpkin seeds, pomegranate
GRILLED QUAIL autumn
squash, pomegranate, sage
ROASTED MUSHROOMS
pancetta, fried egg, ricotta salata
Pasta:
RAVIOLI autumn squash,
sage brown butter, parmesan
GARGANELLI mushroom ragu
TAGLIATELLE bolognese
bianco, parmesan
Secondi:
STRIPED BASS tuscan kale,
cannellini beans, tomato
HANGER STEAK crispy
potatoes, salsa bianco
Assorted
Dolci:
A house assortment of
cookies, fruit and mini olive oil cakes for the finale
Following the L’Artusi
Holiday Dinner we ended the night with a boozy dance party at our friend
Michael’s apartment. (And props to Michael; he had also spearheaded the
planning of the inaugural dinner.)
L’Artusi was a success on
both occasions. I’d love to go back sometime, maybe in the next seven weeks.
Cheers,
A