Locanda Verde

 Friday, I had the pleasure of doing something I rarely do, have a nice leisurely lunch with a few glasses of wine.  What a treat.  We went to Locanda Verde.

Locanda Verde has taken over the restaurant at DeNiro's hotel, The Greenwich Hotel, in Tribeca.  The previous restaurant was called Ago.  The good news for everyone in the neighborhood is that the chef, Andrew Carmellini, is fantastic and needless to say, so is the food. 

The decor in the restaurant has not changed since the beginning.  Big open rooms, large bar, European in feel and casual.  Carmellini took the casual feel and went with it on the menu. 

Lots of wines by the glass, beer too.  We shared everything which is the way to go, then you get to taste a little bit of everything.  We began with a whipped sheeps milk ricotta with sea salt, olive oil and herbs over the top served with triangular toasted bread.  Full of flavor, spreads nicely across the toast, would spread it over anything on the menu.  The foccaccia, which was just 2 small pieces that probably comes when you sit down, were light, airy and tasty.  I spread the cheese over that too. 

On a second go around we had 2 large wood-fired prawns that came over a thinly sliced fennel and sweet pepper roast.  Perfectly cooked, large and delicious.  Our next round was pasta.  Pasta, to me, is always a treat.  I rarely eat is and I love it.  We had the fettuccine verde.  Green fettuccine with a cream based bolognese which was out of this world.  Carmellini did fantastic pastas at his last place too.  We also had the broccoli rabe grinder.  Crispy bread, like a hero, filled with broccoli rabe, thickly sliced sausage, spicy peppers and ricotta.  Another winner.

Had a few scoops of the sorbet to finish.  A win win for Tribeca to have a delicious casual spot.  No question that I will return.  One of the best new places I have been to in a while.