New York Food Rave #3: Locanda Verde

Ranked as ‘Must-go’ in my sis’s list of places to eat in New York and by R from {girl on the ave}, I was glad that our concierge managed to help squeeze us an early lunch reservation at Locanda Verde.  In R’s words in her little NYC guide that she so kindly shared with me ahead of our trip, the place was ‘owned by Robert de Niro with a super talented pastry chef which meant great desserts’ – what’s not to like?  We didn’t quite get to desserts for we were stuffed by then.  I guess we could always make room for dessert but I didn’t want to over-eat.  Hehe.

The place is fun and casual.  The best part?  The food is amazing too and at prices that won’t break the bank.  A quick search online revealed the restaurant’s popularity amongst food critics.   Click here, here and here to read more.

We did what we did best.. that is to order a couple of sides and a main dish to be shared.  According to the sis, these are what the critics recommended:

Lamb Meatball Sliders (US 12)

Sheep’s Milk Ricotta with sea-salt and herbs (US 15)

Crostino of the day (US 8)

This is a pretty common sight at the table.

My Grandmother’s Ravioli (US 18)

And because we felt starved of vegetables, we ordered 2 portions of broccolini to be shared among the 3 of us.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable lunch spent with my mom and sis as we exchanged stories about life.  It’s been a long while since we got together and did the girly thing so this was really special.

Locanda Verde

Address: 377 Greenwich St, (corner of N.Moore and Greenwich), New York, NY 10013

Telephone: (212) 925-3797

Related articles

• New York Food Rave #2: Shake Shack (j0annesim.wordpress.com)
• New York Food Rave #1: Totto Ramen (j0annesim.wordpress.com)

Celeb-spotting NYC

They say that in New York City you just might get lucky and spot a celebrity. Well, I guess it was kinda my lucky day when I spotted these guys. Of course I had to do the ‘paparazzi’ thing and share where I spotted them:

> Donald Trump filming a trailer for the latest episode of ‘The Apprentice’ at Trump Tower. Happened to be going past Trump Tower, saw the bright lights and decided to pop in for a peek.

> On Broadway! Was accompanying my mom and sis to grab a cab after watching the ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’, happened to pass by the theatre where crowds were waiting for Matthew Broderick, lead of the new Broadway play ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It’. And? Managed to get a quick shot of him. He’s pretty shy but really accommodating in signing of autographs and taking pictures with fans.

> A girlfriend recommended that I check out Pastis for some lovely French food. Apparently, reservations are pretty hard to score but my concierge did wonders and managed to pull as a last minute reservation. While dining, I kept my eyes peeled opened for some celebs for that same girlfriend managed to spot some when she was dining there before. I think I saw some but I wasnt sure, think it was one of the Baldwin brothers and Christian Bale but before I could take a closer look, they were gone. So, that I can never be sure I guess.

So, have you ever been on a holiday, got lucky and managed to spot some celebrities? Pray tell who you’ve spotted.