A group of us who had been on a Les Dames d’Escoffier International culinary trip to Italy met for dinner at Piccolo Cucina on the Upper East Side. Marisa May had selected Piccolo Cucina because Matteo Bergamini — former chef at both San Domenico NY and SD26 — was this Italian restaurant’s Executive Chef.
NB: Sadly Tony May, Marisa’s dad who was also at the dinner, died last week.
As we were sipping our drinks, our waiter placed the Italian bread and dips on the table for nibbling. We then shared their frito misto ($21.95) with a variety of fried fish and vegetables, their eponymous salad ($17.95) with baby spinach, beets, orange, avocado, toasted nuts and dried fruit and — my fav — the Fugassa Semplice ($18.95), the decadent cheese focaccia.
With a Pescatarian amongst us, we chose three meatless kinds of pastas that included pappardelle with porcini mushrooms ($23.95) and two tomato-based ones: corkscrew fusilloni scampi ($24.95) with langoustine, burrata cheese, cherry tomatoes and arugula and — my favorite — their maccheroni Norma ($20.95) containing three eggplant rolls in tomato sauce with ricotta cheese.
The entire table shared their rich crème brulée gratinata with raspberries, a lemon cheesecake with white chocolate ganache and fennel crumble and tiramisu made tableside! All delicious.
Worth a visit.
Piccolo Cucina
Upper East Side
106 E 60th St
New York, NY 10022
United States
This all looks fabulous!
I notice that most Italian restaurants offer a bread not up to the quality of their dishes. Semolina is my favorite with a crispy crust. Have to get that in a bakery.
Right! But when the bread is good — there’s nothing like it! I like a chewy crust and dense interior.