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“Bivio”

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

BIVIO

Owned by Danny Emerman and Alessandro Prosperi, the smart and Italian-savvy pair who own Barocco, Bot and Bottino (apparently these men have a fetish with the letter “B”), Bivio is a swanky joint located on the corner of Hudson and Horatio, just where the West Village caresses the Meatpacking District. Sleek and sexy, with windowed portholes that allow chilly outsiders to peer inside and play voyeur, Bivio is already drawing a photogenic crowd of Fab Five-ish Chelsea boys and long legged size two babes dressed for summer despite the artic chill. (Honies, please, it’s cold out there – get dressed.)

Bivio is an easy place to love, aside from the noise level that can grow deafening as the night grows later. The room is dark and sultry, with soft, low lighting, floor to ceiling chalk boards scrawled with menu items, and a sleek slate bar accented with chrome. While the room has a rustic warmth, it also feels slick, and mod, almost like an art gallery made for eating.

The menu is all good—straight up Italian with antipasti like Salumi (Duck Proscuitto, Soppressata, and Bresaola), Formaggi (Robiola, Cacio di Pienza), and an awesome selection of Verdure. We started with a wide platter filled with prosciutto and all of the vegetable antipasti (3 for $12)—marinated artichokes, braised fennel vinaigrette, grilled eggplant diced into fleshy cubes, brightened up with mint, and caramelized cippolini onions, stewed in balsamic until just soft, and infused with a sweet tang. Another bottle of wine was opened when our main courses arrived. We had a delicious bowl of orchiette—pasta shaped like little ears—tossed with broccoli rabe and spicy bits of Boar sausage ($15), then we literally gnawed the meat off a mess of juicy, tender herb-crusted lamb chops ($25), after fighting over the last golden roasted potatoes, crisped on the outside, in jackets coated in olive oil and rosemary. We also managed to finish off a tagliata of tuna, seared ruby red rare, served over al dente flageolet beans and haricot verts ($22). We ended the meal with a nod to Italy, with a perfectly dressed arugula salad topped with pearly, sheer ribbons of fennel and nutty, paper-thin shards of shaved Parmigiano ($6). After dinner, we sat around and finished our third bottle of Vino Nobile. Toasting to friendship and to the New Year, our conversation rambled from new relationships, to scars from broken hearts, to career woes, to travel plans, and to the future. Occasional ... [more, click below]

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Posted: January 10, 2004

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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