Locanda Verde

After months and months, I finally tried the new hot spot, Locanda Verde. I had been putting it off forever because I hate going to popular restaurants right when they open--the waits are usually awful. On this beautiful spring day, I implemented my "eating early" strategy and headed over to meet a friend at 6pm. I was running late (shocking, I know) and in those 10 minutes, all the open tables were given away! It was unbelievable. No one in New York eats dinner at 6pm. A bad start, but I knew then and there this place would live up to its expectations. Fortunately, it was nice enough to sit outside, the only open tables without a wait.

Everything on the menu sounded delicious and it was super hard not to over order, but I managed to not over do it.
Lemon rosemary foccacia was super soft and fluffy. I wanted a whole basket. Also got the sheep's milk ricotta with sea salt and herbs. The ricotta was sooo creamy. I wanted to spread it on everything. Definitely one of their signature dishes. Every table had an order.

Roasted asparagus with poached egg, frisee and ramp dressing. I love eggs and asparagus, particularly runny eggs. Probably doesn't make for pleasant after effects (smelly pee, gas) but I think it was worth it.

This magnificent creation is the spaghetti with American speck, English peas and ramps. I don't exactly know what American speck is. Do they just want to clarify that it's not English like the peas? Whatever the country of origin, it tasted like a fancy, fresh, spring-y carbonara.

This is LOVE. I loved, loved, LOVED this dish. It is fennel glazed duck with sugar snap peas, orange and smoked sausage. The duck was perfectly cooked with a crispy, sweet flavored skin. The sugar snap peas added a fresh crunch in contrast to the pea puree. I couldn't shovel forkfuls of this into my mouth fast enough. The only problem I had was that there wasn't enough duck.

And this is the perfect way to end a meal. It is the banana walnut brown butter cake with banana gelato and walnut brittle. I ate it all and almost licked the plate.

I can't wait to go back!




Restaurants mentioned:
Locanda Verde
377 Greenwich St.
New York, NY 10013