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“Accademia di Vino”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	Upper East Side	Moderate	Good

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The concept of sharing is practically law in New York City dining circles. It's a practice that's grown into tradition because of a combination of things. First, there's been a steady decline in formality of dinner service over the past five years. Of the spate of restaurants opening this fall, not too many are banking on four-star service. The bulk of them are more or less two star settings, casual chic spots that are variations on the seasonal American eatery, the rustic trattoria, the gastro-pub, or locavore's tavern; the sort of vibe and setting makes sharing second nature. Second, being that New York is a competitive town, there's always a bit of orderer's envy at the dinner table. No one wants to feel like they've ordered poorly and somehow whatever the person is eating to your left or right always seems better than what's on your own plate. But when I think of the root of this sharing trend, I think of the wine bar, a concept built on the concept of tasting and sharing with platters of meats, cheeses and assorted small plates to share.

All of this goes a long way to bring us to the latest variation on this theme, Accademia Di Vino, the Upper East Side's newest Italian enoteca, restaurant, and pizzeria. The restaurant is a sharer's paradise. Chef Kevin Garcia's menu offers no less than half a dozen shareable ways to start a meal. There's hot and cold antipasti ($4-$12), tramezzinis (sandwiches with crusts cut off stuffed with the like of shrimp salad and radish, to sopressata and salsa verde, $7 each), crudo (tuna, scallops or kobe beef, $4 per piece), tartares (in tuna, salmon and steak, $12 each), carpaccio (in the same varieties as tartare, $14), pannini (arugula and proscuitto, to roasted pork and fried capers, $8), assorted cheeses, meats, and salads. It's quite an exhausting selection, but the variety allows the restaurant to serve as a bustling wine bar (upstairs), a rustic, exposed brick pizzeria and restaurant (downstairs), and to offer the neighborhood all sorts of dining options for many return visits.

While the menu is massive, the draw here is already the grilled pizzas, a recipe and technique Garcia, who also heads the kitchen at ‘Cesca and was most recently on Mark Ladner's team at Del Posto, learned while at Al Forno in Rhode Island. (He cooked with the late Vincent Scotto, one of this mentors and friends.) These are chewy, slightly charred flatbreads that are thrown in varying shapes of oval onto a hot ... [more, click below]

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Posted: September 24, 2007

Other restaurants in Upper East Side :
+ Sfoglia   + Zoe Townhouse   + Accademia di Vino   + T-Bar Steak and Lounge   + Parlor Steakhouse   + Le Caprice   

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