Last Thursday I grabbed a bite at Scuderia, an Italian Trattoria in the West Village. One of the owners of Scuderia is Leyla Marchetto, whose father Silvano owns Da Silvano across the street, which has been around since 1975!
We sat outside on 6th Avenue and began our meal with a few appetizers chosen by our waiter. He sent out fried olives stuffed with pork ($10), a Bibb lettuce salad woth gorgonzola ($10.50), roasted jumbo artichoke ($12.50), and a Baccala -Salted Cod and Potatoes ($11.50). My tablemates and I agreed that the highlight of these appetizers was definitely the Baccala, which was creamy, tasty and addictive!
A Picante pizza ($17.50) with spicy pork sausage, taleggio, and rucola was absolutely wonderful! In fact, it was one of the best pizzas I had ever had! There was a beautiful balance between the spiciness of the sausage and the sweetness of the taleggio and olive oil on the pie
Next we had two pasta dishes: Orecchiette “Norcina” ($28.50)and the Gnocchi di Patate all’Aragosta ($22.50).
The Orecchiette came with prosciutto, rucola, peas, and truffles. It was a rich and decadent dish.
The Gnocchi came with lobster and a light lobster sauce and was truly fabulous! There were hunks of plump, juicy lobster which were great. My two dining companions and I could not stop eating this dish, and I know one of them was having fantasies about it the following day!
For our entrees we had the Mix Seafood Grill ($32.50), Braised Short Rib ($23.50) and the Veal Shank ($29.50)
The grilled seafood with fish, calamari, and lobster came dressed with olive oil and herbs was simple, fresh and fine.
The braised beef short rib came with a nice polenta. The beef was extremely tender and there was a nice sweetness to the dish.
The veal shank with a saffron risotto was amazing! The meat was cooked so perfectly, it fell right off the bone. It was juicy, tender, and delicious! One of my dining companions stated it was the best he had ever had! I thought the addition of the saffron risotto was a unique complement to the veal, and I enjoyed it.
Scuderia is the perfect spot to come for a glass (or a few glasses) of wine, have some Italian bites, and watch the world go by.
Scuderia
257 6th Avenue (bet. Houston and Bleeker)
New York, NY 10014
212-206-9111