Maialino
Posted by bellastraniera - 02/12/09 at 06:12 pm An old bit of travel advice goes like this: If you’re looking for a casual place to eat in Italy, go for a trattoria over a ristorante. The word “trattoria” implies that the establishment is a family-owned business where the food is made in house, while the word “ristorante” connotes a more expensive place that’s run as a business, not as a labor of love.
Though Danny Meyer may be renowned for his business acumen, the feeling of a home-cooked meal comes through in his new Maialino, which he specifically calls a trattoria. Despite the madness surrounding its opening in the Gramercy Park Hotel two weeks ago—it’s nearly impossible to get through on the phone to make a reservation, so try Open Table—on a recent night, Maialino was surprisingly calm, orderly and friendly inside on a recent night.
The décor, with its elaborate tile floors, black and white photos of the Old Country and plates enameled with “Maialino,” doesn’t feel like somebody just cobbled together an Italian restaurant from a kit. Instead it comes off as authentic, welcoming and relaxed. Another good bellwether for the post-Atkins era: as at Locanda Verde, Maialino has an Italian pastry station here that’s turning out very good breads and pastries, like this lightly sweet roll with a savory topping of herbs and a little garlic.
You can walk into Maialino without a reservation, but as at DBGB, you will most likely be seated in the bar area, which has a different menu. This isn’t such a bad thing, however: these tempura-like skewers of crispy, light shrimp and octopus with potent mackerel embedded in curls of scallion are only on the bar menu. They were so good that our friend Twann opined that they should be made in candy necklace format so he could them eat all day long.
At the table, the fried artichokes ($9) were tender inside, with a crunchy exterior and the minimum of scratchiness from the leaves, served with a good bagna cauda alongside. Cavolo nero ($10), an authentic, less bitter Tuscan kale that’s hard to find here, came wilted and interspersed with nubbly bits of pecorino for an interesting texture.
Pastas are Maialino’s strong point. Malfatti with pork ragu and arugula ($17) wasn’t what we expected, but it was very good all the same. Not tomato-y but surprisingly light and bright, the ragu had a hint of lemon juice and a sprinkling of peppery arugula to balance out the pork. The al dente noodles lay in a tasty emulsion of pork fat and broth.
Chef Nick Anderer isn’t afraid to go full steam ahead on flavor. Spaghetti with cod ($15) had a strong fish essence and bold tomato and garlic counterpart that was quintessentially Mediterranean. And Maialino’s inclusion of dried pasta is a new step for New York’s “serious” Italian restaurants. Dried pastas are authentic but not fussy fare and more appropriate for an Italian meal that’s homey, not fancy.
Silky, eggy spaghetti carbonara ($16) benefited from excellent guanciale (unsalted pork from the jowl), which they must have on hand here. (Maialino, Meyer’s nickname, means “little pig.”) There was a strong dose of pepper and a top note of nutmeg. As Meyer told WWD, every day on a summer trip to Rome he his team went out for “two lunches, two dinners, five coffees, three gelatos, and three porchettas” to perfect the dishes on offer, particularly the carbonara. The resulting dish is superb and certainly worth the gorging – theirs and ours.
Oddly, the signature dish is where Maialino falls short. Fortunately, diners aren’t challenged with eating a whole roast suckling pig but a rack of pig for three people ($68) with the ribs carved and set off to the side. While ours was cooked beautifully, the exterior layer of fat retained and broiled to a crisp, the meat super tender underneath, it lacked any kind of seasoning other than your basic salt and pepper. This was a shame because a) it was expensive, and b) pork is such an excellent conduit of herbs, garlic, or nearly any flavor you throw at it.
The contorno of Brussels sprouts, chestnuts and pecorino ($9) was also just ho-hum, despite the fact that Brussels sprouts are also a good vehicle for more flavor.
One of the most frequent questions Meyer was asked in preliminary interviews is definitely legit: Why open up another Italian restaurant in a city that’s already full of them? Maialino doesn’t do anything to push the envelope in New York’s cuisine scene. But on the other hand, Meyer’s answer holds true: at this solid trattoria, they just focus in on traditional dishes and try to make them “really good.”
Maialino
Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Avenue at Gramercy Park North
New York, NY
212-777-2410
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bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.
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