In New York City’s Greenwich Village, both East and West, there are four restaurants created by Epicurean Management: dell'anima, L'Artusi, L'Apicio and Anfora. Eat at one of these intimate spots and you’ll be delighted. Eat at all, and you’ll be transformed to food paradise.
If you can’t eat at all or even just one, you can buy, cook from and surely relish Downtown Italian.
Restaurant groups — or empires — are not a new slant in the culinary scene. Some groups have existed for decades. What is relatively new is groups formed of “smallish” restaurants, often clustered close to each, sharing talent, but using their “largeness” to achieve economy of scale and leverage marketing. Epicurean Management has mastered this strategy, achieving fame for their foursome of restaurants, a fame that is well merited by the outstanding dishes presented across the four sites. Outstanding dishes that are now readily available for you.
Downtown Italian has been written by the three dream team powers of the group:
- Joe Campanale is the beverage director and his input appears on many of the recipes: an icon and note suggesting a wine type and style or perhaps even a beer.
- Gabriel Thompson is the Executive Chef. With wide experience at famed restaurants across the United States, his fondness for Italian cuisine is on display with every recipe.
- Katherine Thompson is the Executive Pastry Chef with a background beginning at the CIA and including stings at Per Se and Del Posto. Her recipes are based on classics but reflect the sophisticated style of a dessert maven. The Espresso-Rum Almond cake is worth the price of the book.
If you sit with Downtown Italian, and flip through the pages, you really want to have some stickies in your hand. Otherwise, you are going to be very busy flipping pages, pondering what to test first and how to assemble a meal out of all these treats. There are so many glorious choices from cocktails to dessert:
Here’s a tour of the primary chapters and some oh-so-delicious recipes:
- Aperitivi
Basil Mojito: mint is out, basil is in
Roasted-Orange Negroni Sbagliato: spotlighting vermouth, Campari, Lambrusco
Blame It On The Aperol: Aperol, Gin, Prosecco
- Antipasti
Charred Octopus with Chicories, Cannellini Beans, and Chorizo
Butter Lettuce with Lemon Crema, Olives, Toasted Hazelnuts, and Gorgonzola
Roasted Mushroom with Bacon and Eggs
- Primi
Farfalle with Duck Ragu
Orecchiette with Pas and Bacon
Linguini and Clams with Chorizo and Chili
- Secondi
Duck Breasts with Radicchio and Roasted Turnips
Chicken al Diavolo with Broccoli Rabe
Whole Roasted Turbot with Summer Succotash
Leg of Lamb with Wilted Spinach and Garlic Confit
Roasted Pork Rack with Plums and Chorizo
- Contorni
Candied Parsnips with Hazelnuts
Delicata Squash with Sage: delicata are those yellow-green striped winter squash
Roasted Cauliflower with Currants, Capers and Pine Nuts
- Dolci
Bittersweet Chocolate Budino
Crème Fraiche Panna Cotta with Semolina Shortbread, Vanilla-Macerated Strawberries and Saba
Espresso-Rum Almond Cake with Salted Caramel, Sea Salt Gelato, and Almond Brittle:
These recipes must remind you of slow food, though in a different way. If you were to dine at one of the four restaurants, it would be a long, deliberate, and wonderful meal. If you seek to prepare dish, or better an entire meal, from Downtown Italian, then you will need some time in the kitchen. You could benefit from a partnership with one of Joe’s cocktails, perhaps, to smooth the effort. You might start with a double batch of the Sea Salt Gelato to provide a mid-afternoon snack. Cooking from this book is sure to be a delight.
The recipes in Downtown Italian are professionally written and designed for the home cook. You know these recipes have been testes and retested, so they are going to work flawlessly for you. Often you will encounter one of the full-page photos that make Downtown Italian so vibrantly wonderful.
This weekend, Suzen and I are making that Chicken al Diavolo recipe. And on the side we’ll do these beautiful Delicata Squash with Sage:
