La Lanterna di Vittorio
Photo: Cititour.com
Contact Info:
Address: 129 MacDougal St (bet. 3rd & 4th Sts)
City: New York, NY
Zip: 10012
map: View the Map
Phone: (212) 529-5945
Food Info:
Cuisine:
Italian
2nd Cuisine:
Pizza
Cititour Review:
I thank the powers that be that the garden at La Lanterna di Vittorio wasn’t around while I was studying for the Bar Exam two decades ago. (True, I don’t practice law anymore, but I did pass the Bar!). Had it existed, I would’ve spent even less time in my NYU dorm room than I did and much more time luxuriating in this marvelously peaceful oasis. Indeed, what I remember most from my law school days is sipping a soothing cappuccino on wintry days in La Lanterna’s cozy wood-filled front room. It’s a comforting thought to know I can still do just that today -- if I could ever find the time.But in many others ways, La Lanterna was a very different place back in the 1980s. For example, there was no “Bar Next Door” downstairs, where you can hear some of the city’s best jazz musicians play while you enjoy one of the many many many bottles of wine the house has to offer. It’s a great post-prandial spot. Anyway, let’s get back to that fabulous garden, which was completed last year, and which I could happily move into. After all, I could eat very well back there, morning, noon and night. Truth to be told, I could probably subsist on the wonderful, freshly baked foccacia crisps, which can be ordered on their own or as the accompaniment to plates of prosciutto, cheeses and the like. And if I got bored – and I guess it might eventually happen -- I could dig into one of the many excellent pizzas. If I was feeling virtuous, a simple salad of arugula and parmesan would suit me just fine, and if I was feeling just a little less virtuous, the salad of shredded duck breast and mesculun in a mustardy dressing would solve my problems. And if I was really feeling decadent, I would simply head straight to one of the house’s three homemade lasagnas (Bolognese, pesto and quarto fromaggio. They’re all delicious and not as fattening as you might imagine. (Okay, they’re not diet food, but these are thinner, less cheesy lasagnas than more traditional recipes.) Or I guess I could just go on a dessert binge! Cannolis and cheesecakes and tiramisu, oh my. For summer, however, I prefer one of the appealing fruit pies. I can particularly recommend the strawberry-peach pie, which can be ordered either a la mode or with whipped cream. A garden-fresh dessert for this garden of earthly delights.
Review By: Brian Scott Lipton
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