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“Accademia di Vino”

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

an, aka Restaurant Girl, was in to review the place for the Daily News, and stopped by to say hello, as did Josh Wesson, the wine guru and founder of Best Cellars. Craig and I had just come from the BLT Market opening party, so the entire night was turning into a big cocktail soiree, which was fun, but also made for a nice hangover.

That hangover probably also had something to do with the bottle of wine that followed the glasses of white. With our pasta course we ordered a bottle of Barbera D'Asti-Ca di Pian, La Spinetta Piedmont ‘05 ($42), a balanced juicy-tart red that matched up well with the bavette caccio e pepe ($16), and the garganelli with chicken sausage and zucchini ($18). The pastas were both exquisitely cooked, just tender enough without being mushy. The bavette, long ribbons of spaghetti, was delicate and creamy at first, and then surprisingly peppery and bold in the finish. The garganelli was also wonderful, ridged tubes cut on the bias and coated in a fresh sweet tomato and cream sauce tossed with moons of sautéed zucchini and a few hunks of meaty sausage.

Garcia's menu also includes a selection of a half-dozen secondi, including steak, chicken, and pork, as well as salmon and tuna. We shared the grilled veal chop ($35), which was salty and peppery in the char, and juicy and lusciously moist in the middle. Our waitress brought us steak knives, but there was no need. My butter knife worked just fine. For dessert, we had the fluffy lemon ricotta cheesecake on a graham cracker crust ($8), which we also shared. (Craig is very good at sharing.)

My only real issue with the restaurant relates to its name-Accademia di Vino. It makes me picture a classroom with a blackboard and lots of decanters, not a spirited restaurant that's already packed with passionate fans of those bubbly grilled pizzas and homemade pastas. To be sure, there's certainly a focus on wine. The list, curated by owner and wine director, Anthony Mazzola, numbers 500 bottles (from $28 and up). Charlie Arturaola, Director of Wine Education and Events, who was most recently wine director for Gulf Bay Hospitality in Florida, will soon be leading wine classes as well. But I find the name Accademia di Vino to be rather sterile, and also quite difficult to wrap my tongue around. Then again, maybe it doesn't really matter, as long as everyone inside is sharing.

Accademia di Vino is located at 1081 Third Avenue at 64^th Street, 212-888-6333, ... [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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