The Simplicity Of Spaghetti: Scarpetta

My childhood was very conflicted. My parents loved to travel and explore new places, and they loved taking us everywhere too. Before the ripe old age of 12, I had already been to Australia, Bangkok, Switzerland, Mauritius, London, Hong Kong (twice), Singapore (thrice) and even 2 different Disneylands (Paris and Orlando). And yet, wherever we went, we always ate Indian food. There was no exploration when it came to matters of the stomach. There was always an Indian restaurant waiting to be found in a city and somehow, we always found it. If it hadn't been for my uncle AK, I would probably have left Switzerland never knowing what fondue was. The one exception to the rule, however, seemed to be for Italian food. Pizza and pasta were somewhat tolerable to my dad, and we always looked forward to the respite it provided from the cuisine monotony, creating an everlasting bond with the food. Yet, it almost got to a point that when my food horizons were finally expanded, new Italian restaurants were one of the last few I wanted to try. Still, it is always hard for me to say no to a great bowl of pasta and luckily for it, Scarpetta has a few.

Getting In Early: Ciano

In all my years of eating, I don't think I've ever actually been out to a restaurant's opening weekend. There almost always seem to be teething problems associated with any new restaurant so I think my lack of experience owes as much to not knowing early enough when a restaurant is about to open as it does to my not wanting to deal with cold food and sloppy service. Recently, however, my friend AO took care of the first part of the equation and got us a reservation at Ciano. The early reviews of chef Shea Gallante and the restaurant sounded promising enough for me to overcome the second half of the equation and we headed down to Gramercy for another of our regular group dinners.

Truffled Summer: Perbacco

I love the summer in New York. The only reason the (oh, so very cold) winters are bearable is because there is the promise of spring and summer to follow. Nothing seems to illustrate the summer better than a walk through the East Village on a pleasant summer Saturday evening. The streets are bustling with people who, in a dramatic about face for New York, have a smile on their faces and don't seem to have a care in the world. Most enticingly, the streets are lined with small, open air restaurants and cafes, from tables on the sidewalk to open bay windows flooding the small spaces with the warm summer air. One of these charming little restaurants, and one of my favourite Italians in the city, is Perbacco.