Stepping into Locanda Verde (377 Greenwich Street), which replaced the short-lived Ago in Robert DeNiro's Tribeca hotel, we suddenly wondered what city we were in. The restaurant's design struck us as so generic and non descript we could have been in Boston, Chicago or Toronto for all we knew. Ken Friedman had a hand in this? Aside from some old cookbooks on the shelves, you could have fooled us.
Andrew Carmellini, ex-A Voce, is now in charge of the kitchen and it was evident from the familiar feeling, meat-centric menu. We've been let down in the past by Carmellini - A Voce was hardly a 3 star restaurant in our book - but we figured we'd see what he's up to. Apparently, like the restaurant itself, nothing original.
But first, the booze. Right off the bat, we need to give special kudos to Locanda Verde for an actual beer deal. They serve Moretti on draft for $5. (Artisanal American beers are the standard $7 rip-off.) The cocktail list wasn't particularly original but the Benevento (Rittenhouse rye, strega and bitters, $12) was good - borderline sweet but just short of too sweet - but decidedly small. The winelist has a good variety of choices by the glass for $9 - $12 and if you want a different sort of white wine, try the delicious Vespaiolo.
Food-wise, we found the menu skewed to dishes that are too heavy and out of touch with the season. The Meatball Sliders were pretty good as was the Testa, aka head cheese. The Garlic Chicken for two has gotten a fair amount of buzz and it was fine, but frankly we expected the flavors to penetrate the skin a bit more. Robiola Ravioli, unfortunately, were a bg letdown, at least partially because the accompanying mushrooms had not flavor.
We wouldn't put Locanda Verde on our list of places to rush back to, but no doubt the buzz will continue and Carmellini's reputation will translate into NY Times stars. But when people are paying $75 a head, a bit more creativity would do the dining public some good.
Andrew Carmellini, ex-A Voce, is now in charge of the kitchen and it was evident from the familiar feeling, meat-centric menu. We've been let down in the past by Carmellini - A Voce was hardly a 3 star restaurant in our book - but we figured we'd see what he's up to. Apparently, like the restaurant itself, nothing original.
But first, the booze. Right off the bat, we need to give special kudos to Locanda Verde for an actual beer deal. They serve Moretti on draft for $5. (Artisanal American beers are the standard $7 rip-off.) The cocktail list wasn't particularly original but the Benevento (Rittenhouse rye, strega and bitters, $12) was good - borderline sweet but just short of too sweet - but decidedly small. The winelist has a good variety of choices by the glass for $9 - $12 and if you want a different sort of white wine, try the delicious Vespaiolo.
Food-wise, we found the menu skewed to dishes that are too heavy and out of touch with the season. The Meatball Sliders were pretty good as was the Testa, aka head cheese. The Garlic Chicken for two has gotten a fair amount of buzz and it was fine, but frankly we expected the flavors to penetrate the skin a bit more. Robiola Ravioli, unfortunately, were a bg letdown, at least partially because the accompanying mushrooms had not flavor.
We wouldn't put Locanda Verde on our list of places to rush back to, but no doubt the buzz will continue and Carmellini's reputation will translate into NY Times stars. But when people are paying $75 a head, a bit more creativity would do the dining public some good.
Leave a comment