LUPA, NYC

Lupa - a Roman-style trattoria – owners: Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, with Jason Denton (and Mark Ladner with Exec Chef Steve Connaughton) – Sat. 11/3/07 at 1:30pm

I think my comments on Lupa will only further cement me as a Batali groupie. While I fully understand he isn’t the chef there, he and his partners seem to cull a team of chefs and managers who are true to Batali’s vision and credo and hold up his high standards of purity of ingredients and simplicity: let the food speak for itself. And it really comes through at Lupa.

We had the most leisurely and filling lunch in forever, and I only wish I had a third stomach (or another night with refrigeration) to take with us what I couldn’t finish in one sitting. Note: the second stomach I own is strictly reserved for dessert.

I have yet to study my Italian for Dummies book, which I vowed to learn just enough Italian to order properly from a menu. Since that hasn’t happened yet, here is the link to the menu so one can reference what we ate: http://www.luparestaurant.com/menu-NEW.html

We arrived 15 minutes early but were told our table was finishing dessert and would be ready on time so we took a seat at the bar. The room was on the smaller but quaint side with bare wooden tables and chairs. People without reservations took a seat at the bar and ordered off the menu. The place was bustling without being overly noisy and I appreciated the music being audible but not loud.

Not usually one for a cocktail, especially for lunch, but a sucker for finding the next great bellini (the best I ever had was from Cipriani Downtown – peach bellinis till I couldn’t walk a straight line) I ordered one since it promised a fresh peach puree. It did not disappoint and I ended up having two. The best part was watching the bartender prepare an Arnold Palmer. She squeezed three fresh lemons into a shaker with ice, mixed it up and added to a glass of iced tea. I even commented aloud, “that was the coolest Arnold Palmer I’ve ever seen!” She informed me they make all their juices fresh (thank you Mario!) and while it hurts the hands, it makes for better drinks.

When we got to our table we knew immediately that we wanted some of the meats (those with an * are made fresh at Lupa) and assuming the Primi were as small as that from Centro Vinoteca, we decided to splurge with that and the Secondi. Big mistake. When our waiter walked away after giving him our Primi orders, we should have known to skip the Secondi. Oh well! But I digress…

We started with the Affetati Piccolo – which were 2 slices each of the Prosciutto di Parma (if pork and butter had babies, this would be it); a dry aged salami; and a couple others I wasn’t sure which was what, but all divine.

Our Primi comprised the Ricotta Gnocchi and the Pork Tagliatelle which was that day’s special. The gnocchi was incredibly soft pillows of fluffiness I had yet to experience in any kind of pasta. The handmade tagliatelle was perfectly al dente and the pork was sauced just right.

I laid off from finishing my gnocchi only to make room for the pork shoulder and the Saturday special of lamb short ribs. Not usually a fan of lamb, but those short ribs have pretty much converted one new believer. The pork was also very good, but I thought a smidgeon dry; but still a great piece of meat.

My second stomach was stuffed with the ricotta and honey. I have always wanted to order cheese for dessert but never quite understood the concept. Now I know. Ricotta is my new favorite cheese and just found the mix with the honey to be exquisite. The simplest of items making the most delicious combination equals food coma heaven.

It wouldn’t be fair to call the service slow, but the food and clean up happened on a more leisurely timetable. We started at 1:30pm and walked out just before 4pm.

Final note: Make the time for Lupa. You won’t be disappointed.