Scarpetta NYC

I’m in NY for work and started my week off right with a dinner at Scarpetta in the Meat Packing district. After almost walking past the low-key façade, I entered the lovely bar area and was drawn to the fantastic dining room glowing in the last rays of the day’s sunlight. The huge mirrors that line the walls of the dining room are secured by wide, Hermès-orange, leather trunk straps that lend a fun splash of color to the sophisticated décor.


The meal got off to a brilliant start with a trio of accoutrements for the gorgeous selection of breads, with the pièce de résistance coming in the form of a quenelle of marscapone butter topped with a light sprinkle of sea salt & tiny sprig of oregano -- dreamy! From appetizers through dessert, the meal was pretty flawless. A few particular highlights were the mackerel and braised rabbit with spaetzle to start, a perfectly simple handmade spaghetti, and a goat dish that's a far cry from the days I ate goat while living in Africa.


When it was time for dessert, we went with the recommendations of our server: the signature Amadei chocolate cake with burnt-orange caramel gelato and the olive oil cake with more fantastic marscapone, citrus salad & a tangerine sorbet. Both were excellent…and despite my insatiable sweet tooth, I am not easy to please with dessert. I was so happily sated at the end of the meal, I walked all the way back to the Lower East Side in a state of total food bliss.