I know Avenue C feels far away, but I promise you it is so so worth it to go there for the pasta at Fiaschetteria Pistoia. Going to this restaurant, which just opened around the summer, is like reliving my honeymoon in Tuscany. Maybe because the Italian staff doesn’t speak a ton of English, but also because this is some of the most legit pasta I’ve had.
The “wine list” is simply the waiter bringing an old milk bottle cart filled with wine bottles for you to choose from. How can you not love a quaint little touch like that?
For apps, we got burrata and prosciutto. Both were delicious. I would like to go back and try the chicken liver crostini because I remember that being so good and unique to Tuscany when we were there. Based on the rest of the meal, I’m guessing they’d do a good job of preparing it here.
The pasta is simple. It’s the basics done really really well. I tried some of Patricia’s pappardelle with ragu and found it to be perfectly clean flavors. If you’re a red sauce person, get it. If you’re into cheesier things, do yourself the massive favor of ordering the cacio e pepe. It is perfection. I texted Albert from the restaurant to see when we could come back because it was the best cacio e pepe I’d ever head. Better than the cacio e pepe I ate at a restaurant called cacio e pepe. A restaurant called cacio e pepe that was in Italy. The sauce wasn’t too heavy and the pepper wasn’t too much. And the pasta itself! The spaghetti was being HAND ROLLED by a guy in the back. I was able to watch him doing it.
I’m not sure how good the secondi section is, but I would recommend going to Fiaschetteria Pistoia for apps and pastas…maybe 3 pastas for two people because why the heck not? Trust me, it’s worth the hike to Alphabet City.
Peaches to Apples 