House of Lasagna

Anyplace called House of Lasagna has got my attention piqued.  I loooove lasagna.  It’s one of my favorite dishes to make and a sure favorite to eat.  The thing is, it’s usually an afterthought at Italian restaurants.  The focus is always on the penne or the chicken parm.  Strangely enough, even though this restaurant has decided to put my beloved yet oft-overlooked dish front and center, I had not made it there in all 3.5 years of living around the corner.  But that all changed on New Years Eve.

Since Albert and I were going to a pajama party on NYE, we wanted to go somewhere local for supper.  Since we were going to change into pjs right after eating, we needed something a) close to the apartment and b) casual enough that we wouldn’t have to get all dressed up only to put on sweats right after.  After suggesting House of Lasagna several times, Albert agreed to give it a shot.

This place is truly a locals spot.  It’s not the place to go if you want to spot a celeb or eat anything remotely trendy.  It’s filled with neighborhood folks, which, honestly, is exactly how I like it.  These Murray Hill-ians come here for a few reasons: no one will freak out if they bring kids, the lasagna is good, and they have an amazing $6 martini deal.  The martinis are on the small side, but they’re well prepared and very cheap.  As you would expect from a place called House of Lasagna, the lasagna is quite good.  It’s hand made with thin lasagna noodles and a hearty sauce.  I tried the piemontese, which was filled with short ribs, mushrooms, and caramelized onions.  For $15 I received a very generous portion.  We also ordered the mozzarella as an app and I liked that it came with kalamata olives and chopped tomatoes – a nice change from the standard large slices of tomato and cheese.  The thing about the typical caprese is that if the tomatoes and mozzarella are not the best quality, the whole thing is ruined.  The quality of this dish happened to be very good, but serving it this way gives them a cushion just in case.  Also giving them bonus points for serving the complimentary bread with olive tapenade instead of just olive oil.  Nice change.   The only thing I didn’t like was the caesar salad.  Not enough dressing.  It was the only disappointment of the nght.

If you’re a Murray Hill dweller, don’t overlook this place as long as I did!