13 Carmine Street (at Bleecker St.) 212-206-9777 www.giuliettascc.com
Italian. I present to you: the meatball, courtesy of Giulietta’s Cantina Club. On the outside, deceptively like any other. Yet one taste and you’ll realize just how far from truth that is. The onslaught of flavor so outrageous, the moment so perfect, never in my life was I happier to be fooled. The genius of the chef is in taking the simplest of dishes to a completely different dimension (which he did again, moments later, with the bruschetta – heirloom tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil). It was the kind of spectacular that makes you want to pinch yourself, fully convinced you have closed your eyes and opened them in Italy.
His pastas are purely home made (shocker). I went old school with the spaghetti pomodoro (fresh tomato-basil sauce) then got in on the risotto (of three, my choice the di mare with lobster and langoustino). For dessert I remained squarely in Italia, sampling both the affogato and tartufo. As if the food isn’t transportive enough, there’s all those tunes from the 50s and 60s. Your head will be bopping along but, with a meal of this caliber, you’d be doing the very same thing without hearing a single note.