Tag Archives: italian food

Italian, Japanese, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Aqua

March 2, 2025 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video, HERE:

My wife and I came here with another foodie and social media influencer couple to try out some of this new restaurant’s menu. Aqua has both Italian and Japanese menus, so you can have a full-on omakase here, or you can dine a la carte and dig into some pasta or veal Milanese.

We selected eight items from this menu, and then had two versions of their tiramisu (one classic Italian, and one Japanese):

First off, they make some really nice cocktails, which is clutch since they have a gigantic bar (the whole space is pretty massive, actually).

We started with the mushroom and truffle arancini. These were delicious bites.

The lobster bisque pizzette was really unique. I’ve never had something like that. It makes for great table bread to share as a snack.

This red prawn carpaccio was absolutely incredible. This is a must order when you go here.

These little nuggets of fried rock shrimp were really tasty. They don’t look like much, but I was hooked. I could not stop popping them.

The oxtail and truffle mafalde was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the oxtail was super tender and savory.

Here’s a shot of their 12-piece sashimi omakase, which has all of your favorites, salmon belly being my favorite.

This eight-piece roll had salmon and scallop, which was nice.

And finally, the yuzu shiso marinated lamb chops. These were awesome. After the red prawn carpaccio, this was probably my favorite item.

For dessert, we tried the classic tiramisu and the matcha/green team tiramisu. I think we all agreed that the classic version was better. I didn’t snap any photos of that, so you’ll just have to watch the video to see them!

AQUA
902 Broadway
New York, NY 10010

East Village, Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews

Foul Witch

February 18, 2025 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

I finally got over to Foul Witch, named for the strange character in David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” (one of my all time favorite movies). I had heard good things about this place, as it’s a sister restaurant to the popular pizza joint Roberta’s.

Like Roberta’s, they offer an item called Fire & Ice. This is basically the same thing at Foul Witch, but instead of being toppings on a pizza, it is a bunch of deliciousness on a plate. Stracciatella cheese, fresh pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and a Calabrian chili paste spread.

Absolutely delicious, especially when stuffed into their sesame focaccia with cultured butter as a makeshift sandwich (I didn’t snap a pic of that mashup).

We also did a side of their Sorana beans with salsa verde, which ate like cannelini beans with an avocado mousse on top. Very nice.

In the middle, we housed two pastas and their Dutch Baby.

The Dutch Baby is a cross between a pop-over and Yorkshire pudding, topped with duck liver mousse and apple. As tasty as it was pretty.

The first pasta was turnip and poppyseed caramelle. This was nice, but the broth had a little bit of a burnt, bitter flavor (likely from the turnip). Otherwise very unique.

The second pasta was Pici al Peposo, which is like extra thick spaghetti served with a peppery meat, horseradish and Parmigiano cheese. We sort of identified the meat as short rib, but traditionally this dish is made with either stewed short rib or shank. This was really nice, although a bit heavy.

Finally, we finished with their wagyu chuck steak.

This was perfectly cooked, super tender, juicy, flavorful, well-seasoned and just over all delightful. 9/10. It was served with a Bearnaise sauce and various types of allium (onions, garlic, chives, shallots, leeks, etc).

We would have tried a dessert, but the charcoal grilling going on in the kitchen set off the smoke alarms, and it just became unbearable to stay any longer. FDNY showed up. Haha! In any case, I would definitely go back to try more things here.

FOUL WITCH
15 Avenue A
New York, NY 10009

Burgers, Nolita/Soho

Cantiere Hambirreria

December 28, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

This Italian burger joint just opened in Soho, and we hosted an Electric Wednesday there with some ebike guys. Check that out HERE:

You can also check out my Ride & Review HERE:

But here’s a quick writeup:

I started out with what was probably the best food I’ve eaten all year. Pittule. These are fried balls of dough/fritters, like zeppole, only they’re made with olives, capers and sun-dried tomato, and then covered with stracciatella and crispy speck. UNBELIEVABLE! I’m already craving more.

I tried the Campano burger next. The burgers here are sort of like flattened meatballs, in that they are seasoned with spices, breadcrumbs, and contain other meats like pork. This particular burger was topped with mortadella, mozzarella and some really nice pistachio sauce. I very much enjoyed it as a unique way to consume all of the various delicious Italian food items. The bun is house made and almost tastes like a sweet buttered biscuit. I think it would be perfect for an Italian breakfast sandwich. And the fries are like curly thick cut potato chips. Really good!

I also tried the tiramisu, which is served in a huge coffee tin. It’s super fluffy and light.

I’ll be back here for sure!

CANTIERE HAMBIRRERIA
41 Kenmare St.
New York, NY 10012

East Village, Italian, Lower East Side/Chinatown

Fiaschetteria Pistoia

September 17, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my ass-kicking RIDE & REVIEW video for this restaurant HERE:

This place, whose name translates to Pistoia Wine Shop (Pistoia is a town in Tuscany), has some really amazing food.

We started with the guancia (pork cheek) and Tonno del Chianti (pork that tastes like tuna). Both were hands-down incredible.

Even their bread is a delicious mix of focaccia and country style.

Next we dove into some pasta. On was a special tagliatelle with sausage. Very good, although just a hint salty.

The other was a duck pappardelle which was lights out!

We finished the meal with the most perfect panna cotta I’ve ever had. Seriously.

FIASCETTERIA PISTOIA
647 E 11th Street
New York, NY 10009

Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Parms, Porterhouse, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Da Toscano

June 5, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

My wife and I finally made it over to Da Toscano with my buddy and his girlfriend, who are huge fans of the place. We went big, so I’ll get right down to business.

For starters, we had the broiled oysters, which were bathed in crab fat butter. Absolutely delicious.

Then we ate five pasta dishes. Yes, five. My favorites were the lamb neck agnolotti and the orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe sauce.

Insane. So much flavor coming through in that orecchiette from the pickled cherry peppers. And the agnolotti were like little buttery packages of meaty deliciousness.

The squid ink spaghetti with crab and Calabrian chili was delicious as well. Perfectly executed.

The Scialatielli with sour beer and clams was incredibly unique and delicious. We really enjoyed this.

The gnocchi was our least favorite.

For our main courses we went with the veal strip parm and the Bistecca Fiorentina style porterhouse.

The parm was perfectly crisp and delicious.

The steak had a slight age on it from Allen Brothers, and it was rubbed with a porcini mushroom spice. 9/10!

For dessert we had the bomboloni with foie gras, peanut butter and jelly. It was pretty good, but we ended up liking the olive oil cake better.

I highly recommend this place, and I can’t wait to go back to try more stuff.

DA TOSCANO
24 Minetta Ln
New York, NY 10012

East Village, Italian, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Parms, Restaurant Reviews

Il Posto Accanto

May 10, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out this kickass Ride & Review video HERE:

– link –

My wife sent me an Instagram post from this place about a special burrata and mortadella app they were running. When I realized how close it was to our place, I called up and grabbed a reservation for dinner later that day. The food on their account looked awesome, and I’m always looking to try neighborhood joints like this.

The meal was incredible. First, let me say that the table bread was so good! They had an onion focaccia and some Italian bread, served with olive oil (watch the video to see it).

We started with that special burrata app, which had spicy salami, prosciutto and mortadella along with the burrata.

Next up, fritto misto, with calamari, shrimp and zucchini. LOTS of the seafood. Great portion!

We also had the grilled calamari, which is marinated in olive oil for a day before being grilled. This was lovely.

For the second half of the meal, we did two pastas and their smoked mozzarella chicken parm.

Although the cheese wasn’t bubbly or melted out, the dish was still really great. The chicken was pounded out enough to be tender, but not so thin that it lost juiciness.

The first pasta was a Sorrento style long, thick ribbon called scialatiella.

I love a thick pasta, and this was easily one of my favorite pasta dishes of the year.

Cavatelli with sausage, peas, and mushrooms in a white truffle cream sauce was next. This was so damn tasty. Cavatelli is typically my favorite pasta shape. All the pasta here is hand made in house, and really well made at that.

For dessert we tried the panna cotta. This was so smooth, creamy and delicious. The berry compote on the bottom was just the right amount of sweet acidity to cut that rich creaminess.

What a meal! We plan to be regulars here, and we can’t wait to go back. Check out the bottom line of the receipt. That shit had me cracking up!

IL POSTO ACCANTO
190 E 2nd St
New York, NY 10009

Italian, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Restaurant Reviews

Casino

May 9, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

Check out my Ride & Review video HERE:

This little Italian joint opened up down by us on East Broadway, and we were excited to try it out. The cocktails are all great, and the bar is stacked with lots of amari.

We tried three starters: the endive salad, the prawns and the fried artichoke. These were all fantastic; seriously one better than the next. These items are every day kind of items. They’re that good!

This smoked lamb ragu pappardelle was BONKERS!!! The pasta ate sort of like hand pulled noodles. A bit broken up in parts, but I would eat this by the bucket load. Amazing.

The dry aged duck was a bit of a let down. Not terrible by any means, but it was over seasoned, the skin was not crisp enough, and the flesh was a bit tough in parts. A 6/10. Maybe 7 on a good day. One half/slice was definitely better than the other.

This “crespelle” was sort of like a vegetable lasagna, and it was absolutely delicious. I was shocked at how much I liked this, considering it was utterly meatless.

For dessert we shared the midnight cake, which was definitely more like a mousse than a cake. We loved it. That little blob of white is creme fresche.

I would definitely go back, especially for those starters and the pasta dishes. They have a t-bone on the menu, so I’ll eventually have to try that as well.

UPDATE 7/20/2023

I had the steak!

This is an easy 9/10 and it is in the running for a best bite of 2023. The age was perfect on it, super tender on the filet side, nice texture on the strip side with no connective tissue (a center cut). Beautiful.

CASINO
171 E Broadway
New York, NY 10002

Italian, Midtown West, Parms, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side

Bad Roman

February 12, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

Bad Roman is a brand new Italian concept launched by the folks from the Quality Branded restaurant group (Quality Meats, Quality Eats, Smith & Wollensky, Don Angie, etc.).

Check out the Ride & Review video HERE:

The restaurant takes over the space formerly held by Landmarc inside The Shops at the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle.

They’re serving up really nice, innovative cocktails in a chic, eclectically decorated bar.

The menu is decidedly Roman in it’s inspiration, with pasta dishes that feature cacio e pepe and alla gricia stylings. The pasta shapes are also slightly off the beaten path, with garganelli, cappalletti and mafaldine in the mix. We went with the cappelletti bistecca, which was filled with what tasted like tender short rib and topped with a delicious 20yr balsamic.

For starters, we tried the chilled artichoke. It was simply steamed and served with two sauces; a cream sauce and an Italian inspired chimichurri of sorts. A very light starter.

The real stars of our starters were these porchetta style baby back ribs. They had great texture and bite, and the flavors were nicely balanced between savory, sweet and acidic/bitter. We loved these.

For the main courses here, you won’t find a heavy steak selection like at other Quality Branded restaurants. The main reason is that there’s competition inside the Time Warner Center with Porter House Bar & Grill. Bad Roman limits their steak selection to only the filet (mind you, it can be prepared four different ways). But Bad Roman does really well with their other meat selections, like a pork shoulder chop, a veal milanese, and this massive veal shank osso buco with hand ripped and pinch-folded pappardelle pasta.

At $125, this is meant for two people (possibly even four if everyone were to get their own starter). This was a special, so if it interests you in any way, book your table now before it gets swapped out for something new!

Desserts were fun as well, with a deconstructed cannoli (like chips and dip), as well as a lemon cheesecake inside of a chocolate lemon shaped shell!

I will definitely be going back here to try more of the menu. Congratulations to Quality Branded on this new opening, and congratulations to my buddy Gaetano, who is running the joint. I met him way back when I first started reviewing steakhouses, probably in 2012 or 2013, at Quality Italian. He’s come a long way, and he’s done such great things for the restaurant group. I’m a proud fan!

UPDATE!

After a second visit, I can safely say this place deserves all the hype it gets. The pastas are all great, especially the shrimp garganelli (not pictured).

The veal Milanese is great.

As is the veal chop.

Even the fries are unique and tasty, dusted with the same porchetta spice that’s on the ribs.

The pork shoulder was just okay, but I love that it came with escarole.

We tried a shitload of starters too, all of which are great. I think the crowd favorite was the garlic babka though.

This time for dessert we tried the tiramisu ice cream cake and the sticky toffee panettone. The cake was a little too hard (needed to thaw more), and the panettone could do without the candied rinds on top. Otherwise great. And I loved that house made sambuca!

BAD ROMAN
Third Floor
10 Columbus Cir.
New York, NY 10019

American, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Olde City

January 18, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

First, check out my Ride and Review video of this joint.

Aight, let’s get into it.

Rumor has it, a former partner from Shorty’s struck out on his own after some creative differences. Behold, the birth of Olde City – in fact, Olde City has taken over this former Shorty’s space on Madison Avenue. While it may seem redundant, it isn’t. Shorty’s has gone downhill lately, and Olde City is better than Shorty’s ever was.

Here’s what we tried:

Authentic Philly Cheese – wiz wit. Absolutely delicious. I was almost going to add some American cheese to this, but I think the move for me next time will be “extra wiz.”

Roast Pork – my favorite item of the meal.

Slow cooked to perfection and thinly sliced, the pork is melt-in-your-mouth. Best paired with provolone cheese to contrast with the brightness of the broccoli rabe. I went for many dips into the au jus.

Mango Habanero Chicken Philly Cheese, with ghost pepper jack cheese. I was dead set on trying something different. This was really nice.

Contrary to what you might expect, I actually love chicken Philly cheesesteaks. Nevertheless, this one came in third behind the other two sandwiches.

We also had the Old Bay dry rub wings – a crispy hit!

Italian fries and beer battered onion rings rounded out the sides.

And, of course, great beer selection.

I’m a huge fan of this place, so I hope to be back to try their burgers and other sandwiches as well.

OLDE CITY
66 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016

Italian, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

Trapizzino

January 3, 2023 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

This little spot on the lower east side specializes in what can best be described as Italian hot pockets or stuffed pita bread. The bread itself is actually pretty unique. It’s a toasty triangle of puffy yet crispy goodness, and inside is filled with something delicious – in this case, oxtail and tomato: