I often talk about Morandi, one of my favorite Italian restaurant in the city. Although not truly Italian like Pastis or Balthazar are not truly French but still a good rendition by Keith McNally. Scene-y, crowded and loud. We recently where in Chelsea and decided to go there for an early dinner. I started the meal with a house cocktail: the Lo Scosseze, made with Adberg whisky, Drambouie liquor and black walnut. Apparently not that many people order it because they do not like peaty whisky. Well, on my side I loved it.

Jodi asked if they could do a mocktail and they made one with raspberry that was unfortunately too tart.

As an appetizer, we shared the focaccia zucchine e bufala that was a flatbread made with focaccia topped with pesto, sautéed zucchini and buffalo mozzarella. This was delicious to the point that I would make my own at home. The zucchini were slightly crunchy, the mozzarella creamy and I appreciated the fact that they did not put too much pesto.

Then we both got pasta: Pici al limone (hand rolled spaghetti with lemon and Parmesan) for Jodi and linguine alle vongole for me. Both were good: the pici al limone are always surprising as the lemon is not overpowering and works well with the Parmesan cheese. The vongole is also one of my favorite dishes: nice amount of clam, enough white wine sauce and pasta cooked al dente.

Of course we could not leave without dessert and settle for the ricotta fritters that had pignoli inside. Good and comforting.

So again, Morandi does not disappoint and it is not the last time I will go there although I would continue to go early enough to avoid the noisy crowd.

Enjoy (i did)!

If you like this post, the photos or the blog, please feel free to share it or post a comment. Merci!

Morandi-211 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10014

Morandi in Chelsea

I Just Want To Eat!