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“Scarpetta”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	MeatPacking	Moderate	Great

ietelle—and we couldn’t hear each other. The amount of shouting that was going on at our table and around us, most acutely from a table of screaming drunk twenty-something women seated near us, was close to unbearable.
 

Photo of Scarpetta's Dining Room by Daniel Krieger

I’ve said this in prior reviews but I’ll say it again, because I am cranky and old-fashioned and I like to be able to hear what people around my dinner table are saying. If as much attention was paid to acoustics as was paid to flatware, bathroom faucets, and choice of linens (in this case bare chocolate wood tables set with bright poppy placemats), dining would be a lot more enjoyable. Acoustics are a huge part of the dining experience. If you can’t converse with your dining companions why bother going out to dinner? See, that’s a line only said by an old person. Young people don’t care. They just want to see and be scene. Me? I’d like to be seen and heard. Oy.

Jamie had gone to Per Se the night before and was trying to tell us about her dinner, which she had thoroughly enjoyed. But it was virtually impossible to hear her. While we strained to listen, we dug into our first courses. The raw yellowtail with flaked sea salt and peppery olive oil ($16) was exceptional—simple and yet the olive oil and salt coaxed out the delicate flavors of the fish without smothering them. Creamy polenta served with a silver pot of fricasseed mushrooms ($16) was a tad wintry for the summer, but it was delicious—warm pudding like polenta that had clearly been touched by a good deal of cream, topped with meaty roasted mushrooms. It’s the sort of dish that might take the place of chicken soup for the soul.

A cold spring pea soup ($14) took us into the right season. Bright and fresh and the color of grass, if a little thin in flavor and body, it was poured over a mound of fresh lump crabmeat, a nice addition. There was nothing not to love about the mozzarella in carrozza ($12)—a lightly breaded and pan fried sandwich of creamy mozzarella with a side of stewed roasted baby tomatoes that was almost like a jam it so concentrated the flavors of the tomatoes. My fork and knife kept returning to that little sandwich, pulling at the melted cheese that stretched out like hot taffy into my mouth. Yum. But nothing was as good as the bo ... [more, click below]

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Posted: June 22, 2008

Other restaurants in MeatPacking :
+ Paradou   + Florent   + One   + Bivio   + Spice Market   + Ono   + 5 Ninth   + Fatty Crab   + Del Posto   + Morimoto   + Los Dados   + 5 Ninth   + Merkato 55   + Scarpetta   + The John Dory   + The Standard Grill   + Bill's Bar & Burger   

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