Artfully L'Artusi

March 17, 2009 4:37 pm

$Behind the Burner: Artfully L\'Artusi$

After reading Frank Bruni's review of L'Artusi, I had eagerly awaited an opportunity to eat at the sister restaurant of West Village favorite L'Artusi Dell'Anima. As fate would have it, a friend invited me to join him, chef and partner of the restaurant Jamie Tiampo and acclaimed cookbook author Corinne Trang for an evening at the newly opened restaurant.

After walking through the typical hustle and bustle of a NYC destination restaurant, I was relieved to settle in the tranquil private room upstairs. We sat at the table, surrounded by wine racks beautifully organized by sommelier Joe Campanale, who had warmly greeted me moments before. Although I was thrilled to catch up with Tiampo and Trang, I could hardly wait for dinner.

The wait, of course, was worth every second. We started our meal with a plate of succulent Barron Point Oysters and Scallops with Piment d'Esplette. We also indulged in some of Chef Gabriel Thompson's whimsically inventive crudo, including a fantastic Hamachi with Ginger and Yuzu.

We followed our seafood hors d'oeuvres with a selection of pastas, each of which was satisfying and sinfully decadent. The hanger steak, a potentially stringy, greasy cut of meat, became an example of toothsome perfection in Thompson's hands. Finally, we enjoyed a lovely olive oil cake prepared by Thompson's wife and L'Artusi pastry chef Katherine Thompson.

The restaurant's name was inspired by the classic Italian cookbook of the same title. While L'Artusi stays faithful enough to its Italian roots to satisfy a purist, Thompson exercises enough creativity to keep the food fresh and interesting. I can't wait to eat there again, even if I do have to sit in the noisy dining room downstairs.

Caroline Alexa McBride

L'Artusi
228 W 10th St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 255-5757