Jenny Southan recommends four restaurants in the Big Apple
OLD
BARBETTA
This decadent formal Italian in the Theatre District opened in 1906, making it one of New York’s oldest family-run restaurants. Located on the lower level of a Brownstone mansion, it has a garden courtyard at the rear.
The cuisine has its roots in the Piemonte region, with risotto, polenta, bollito (stew), agnolotti (stuffed pasta) and white truffles being staples.
Try the gnocchetti in cheese sauce and pine nuts (US$12) or the roasted rabbit alla Piemontese in white wine and lemon sauce (US$26), leaving room for the dessert trolley – the bittersweet orange and chocolate mousse (US$12) is sumptuous.
Open daily 12pm-2.30pm, 4pm-12am. 321 West 46th Street; tel +1 212 2469 171; barbettarestaurant.com
NEW
EMMETT’S
New York isn’t short of amazing pizza joints, but up until now it has always been about the city’s signature thin crust. The arrival of Emmett’s last November heralded the arrival of Chicago-style deep-dish pies in Soho.
The cosy restaurant can seat about 16 people plus a dozen at the bar, but be prepared to wait a while – the pizzas are so thick they take 40 minutes to bake.
Filled with vegetables or meat, topped with mozzarella and a rich, salty, garlicky tomato sauce with lots of herbs, the pies come in small (more than enough for one American male), medium, large and family sizes (US$16-US$28). Served on a silver platter, they are obscenely juicy.
Open Tues 5.30pm-12am, Wed-Fri until 1am, Sat 1pm-1am, Sun until 12am. 50 Macdougal Street; tel +1 917 6393 571.
BORROWED
ILILI
An excellent modern Lebanese restaurant in the Flatiron District, Ilili is usually packed with smart professionals. The two-floor space seats about 300 people, but dark latticework screens and soft, orangey lighting create an illusion of intimacy.
Popular mains include the mixed grill for two (US$66) and tender lamb chops with salsa verde and herb-roasted tomatoes (US$42).
It’s easy to focus entirely on the smaller dishes, however, especially when they are as palate-pleasing as the zesty fatoush salad with sweet pomegranate, lemon and sumac (US$12), and Brussels sprouts with grapes, fig jam, walnuts and mint yogurt (US$14).
Open Mon-Fri 12pm-3pm, Sun-Wed 5.30pm-10.30pm, Thurs-Sat until 11.30pm. Brunch Sat 12pm-11.30pm, Sun until 10.30pm. 236 Fifth Avenue; tel +1 212 6832 929; ililinyc.com
VIEW
ROBERT
Perched on the ninth floor of the Museum of Arts and Design, Robert’s floor-to-ceiling windows look down on to Columbus Circle and across to Central Park.
The venue itself is a funky space with colourful mood lighting and retro furnishings, while the international menu features the likes of grilled octopus with Spanish chorizo (US$16), tuna carpaccio pizza on puff pastry with trout caviar and spicy aioli (US$18), and filet mignon with truffled mash, dandelion purée and green peppercorn sauce (US$42).
A “super yummy wine” (as described by my server) is the complex 2012 Two Hands, Gnarly Dudes shiraz from Barossa Valley, Australia (US$90).
Open for lunch Mon-Fri 11.30am-3pm, brunch weekends 11am-3pm, dinner daily from 5.30pm. 2 Columbus Circle; tel +1 212 2997 730; robertnyc.com
