best pasta in nyc?

[littleneck12]

So I just got back from Bologna, and basically the pasta at every restaurant I went to was head and shoulders above anything I had ever tasted before. Where does one approach such perfection in New York? I've been to alot of acclaimed (and not so acclaimed) Italian restaurants in New York, and they have invariably disappointed - in fact I didn't even know I loved pasta until I went to Bologna... oh god, the ravioli w butter and sage, the gramigna con salsiccia, the tagliatelle con funghi, wow.

[psnative]

Just last night I had pasta with sea urchin and crabmeat at Esca. I wanted more the second it was all gone. It was so delicious.

[foodwhisperer]

I had good pasta at Al Fiori, a small ravioli.

[indiefoodie]

Hello, this thread's a little old but is about what I'm looking for, awesome pasta, a few of them vegetarian!
- I've been to Babbo and loved the pastas there but I was hoping to try something new.
- I had gone to Scarpetta a while ago and although I don't rmbr everything that we had (we did have the much raved about spaghetti), I rmbr that it didn't wow us.
- Places that I'd like try at some point but are a little too expensive for this occasion are Ai Fiori, Del Posto and Marea.
- Two places that I'm considering are Lincoln and Ciano.
I would appreciate suggestions on which one should I pick. Thanks!

[Ziggy41]

Dont forget about Maialino. Fantastic Cacio e pepe and Carbonara.
Had a nice cacio e pepe in Eataly last week along with an excellent Gnocchi with lamb shank ragu
Marea's Spaghetti with crab and Fusilli some of the best pasta I ever had
We actually really loved Scarpetta's Agnolloti with rabbit, Spaghetti, and ravioli,
For something more casual you can also try Giovanni Rana

I know I'm not answering your question, but giving you some more food for thought

[indiefoodie]

Thanks! So the choices now include Ciano, Lincoln, Maialino and it probably deserves another chance, Scarpetta.
One of the diners is a vegetarian so are there any places that get eliminated because of that requirement?

[sockster]

Speaking about cacao e pepe and bucatini amatricana, (I threw this one in), a little known newcomer in Soho, Da Marcella is making some of the best (and most reasonable) pasta in New York right now. This place is about to be discovered big time!! Fantastic food, along with hands on ownership, make Da Marcella one of the up and coming great restaurants (food wise for sure) in NYC right now!!

[thegforceny]

I think of Ciano and Lincoln as being rather staid and an older crowd. Haven't been to Lincoln. I do like Ciano and its warm service, but its Tuscan, homey, farmhouse decor and feel need an update IMO.

For pastas I prefer L'artusi and their newer sister restaurants, L'apicio. Downtown, livelier crowd and spaces. GREAT pastas

[indiefoodie]

Thank you! Any favorites (just for Pasta) between dell'anima, L'Artusi and L'Apicio? Looking at the menus, L'Artusi seems to have a few more vegetarian pastas than the others.

[sam1]

truth is, all 3 have excellent pastas. l'apicio has quite a few pastas options...the most of the 3 if i recall. theyre on the salty side but i like it. anything carbonara they do well.

l'apicio is very loud though. im recall plenty of vegetarian pasta options.

[intrepid3591]

pasta at marea mediocre

[Sneakeater]

Lincoln.

Cuz it's better.

[atjsfo]

Speaking of Babbo, do you know if the pasta tasting menu can be made vegetarian? I just looked on their website and only one of the dishes looked to have meat, though I may just not understand the dishes from the names.

Never mind, I just saw this:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/361747

Thanks anyway!

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

[fm1963]

Besides the bolognese, Domingo's Pyramids also contain meat (I haven't tried it but check out the link below)

http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com...

You probably won't have a problem substituting the non-vegetarian dishes, but you should verify when you make your reservation.

[atjsfo]

Wow, great site, thanks for the link.

[littleneck12]

So, just to update, we made a reservation at Babbo for my wife's birthday, but tonight we were looking for something a little more casual (i.e. a little cheaper than some of these places) and tried out the pasta tasting menu at Falai ($45 pp for four courses + dessert). Everything was quite good, particularly the pici with wild boar ragu, which I felt was comparable to a gramigna con salsiccia I had in Bologna.

Thanks for the rec sgordon.

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[lnedrive14]

What's on the Falai pasta tasting menu? They don't have a copy of it online. Does it change daily?

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Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

[littleneck12]

Inedrive, it's four pastas + passion fruit soufle for $45 p.p. We were served the four pastas on the menu other than the gnudi. We loved the pici, liked the agnolotti and spaghetti chitarra, but weren't quite sold on the cuttlefish stracci.

Serving sizes seemed a little larger than half-plates, so it was a great value.

[sgordon]

Glad you liked! That pici is, for my money, one of the best pastas in NYC right now, equal to (if not better than) the much-vaunted spaghetti with tomato & basil at Scarpetta. In the spring they do it with a cinnamon-scented lamb ragu that's equally wonderful.

Didn't know they'd added a pasta tasting - might be a little carb-heavy for me, to do a whole meal of them.

Re: lnedrive14 - They don't change up the menu terribly often, but it's in a constant slow flux - one or two dishes might change each month as things go out of season. Don't know about the tasting menus, though, as I usually go a la carte since the portions for the secondi are scaled down quite a bit when you get them as part of a tasting. That said, scaled down or not they're a good deal - $45-50 for four courses.

[gutsofsteel]

Which "acclaimed" Italian restaurants in New York have you been to?

[uwsister]

The OP answered "Honestly, i'm not good with names since some of it was a while back, but i've tried a number of Italian places that are highly rated by zagat - two that I remember off the top of my head were Erminia and Po, both disappointing."

I think the OP will have some good places to try after this thread!

[littleneck12]

Thanks for the suggestion guys - I knew I could count on you for some suggestions. Since everyone mentioned Babbo, that's a place I will have to try out.

And this was not just a case of thinking things are better in Italy. I've been a number of places and usually think "the XXX in New York is just as or almost as good" - not for pasta in Bologna, it was out of this world. I'm not trying to recreate the whole Italian experience, just some of those dishes (although I realize that some, like wild mushrooms, would be very hard to recreate over here).

Where have I had pasta in New York? Honestly, i'm not good with names since some of it was a while back, but i've tried a number of Italian places that are highly rated by zagat - two that I remember off the top of my head were Erminia and Po, both disappointing. My wife's been to more, i'd have to ask her, but she definitely hasn't been to Babbo's so maybe we'll try that out. Thanks guys.

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

[kathryn]

I think that the pasta game in NYC has really been elevated the past few years with some new restaurants (but with high prices to match), so definitely try some of those mentioned by sgordon.

[sgordon]

Babbo
Scarpetta
Falai
Del Posto
Marea
Convivio

etc
etc
etc

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Del Posto
85 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011

Falai
68 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Convivio
45 Tudor City Place, New York, NY 10017

Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019

[Bko]

The Fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow at Marea and the Spaghetti with tomato and basil at Scarpetta are some great pastas to try out.
Also, which restaurants were disappointing in NYC where you tried the pasta?

[demo5]

Marea
Scarpetta
Sandro's
Convivio
Babbo

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014

Convivio
45 Tudor City Place, New York, NY 10017

Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019

[280 Ninth]

I'm laughing because I visited Bologna last summer and had a very similar experience with pasta and with gelato, as well. My suspicion is that unless you frequent the highest of the high-end places you won't repeat your experience, and maybe not even then. I remember dining at i Trulli last summer, post-trip, and thinking "Eh?" Having read the replies I think that homemade (if you are that committed) or from a place like DiPalo's might suffice, You'll just have to go back! (and visit Parma while you're at it!).

[Chuck Lawrence]

Make it at home with fresh pastas and sauces from Rafetto's on Houston St. Not fancy, just awesome.

[bookhound]

Sometimes it not what you eat but where you eat it. I have a feeling you're going to be disappointed no matter where you go if you are looking to recreated the experience you had in Bologna.

[edwardspk]

I love the pasta at Babbo. The Pasta Tasting menu is heaven.

Don't know if you also like to cook, but with your newly found love of pasta, you might consider making your own pasta at home. It's not as daunting as it seems (I learned to master it in a 2-hour cooking class) and fresh pasta made at home tastes SO much better than "fresh" pasta from the grocery store or dried pasta.

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

[comiendosiempre]

Another vote for Babbo. Excellent pastas.

Carmellini is putting out some very good pastas at Locanda Verde too. A Voce also used to serve consistently good pastas.

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Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

A Voce
41 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010

Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013

[kathryn]

Where have you tried pasta in NYC that was disappointing?