I had heard all the hype. Living across the street from the Greenwich Hotel in TriBeCa NYC, Robert DeNiro’s latest (and greatest, in my opinion) contribution to the neighborhood, I couldn’t help but hear the buzz going around about the hotel’s restaurant.
Locanda Verde is the restaurant on the bottom floor of the Greenwich Hotel. Even though it’s been open for over a year now I have never ventured in. A few days ago Picaboo books, this amazing custom photo book company took me out to lunch to discuss working together in the future, VERY exciting. When they asked me where to go to lunch, immediately I suggested Locanda Verde, I wanted to see what all the buzz was about, and since it wasn’t on my dime I figured, what the heck.
The place is GORGEOUS. They made some AMAZING changes from when it was AGO, which ended up ironically being true to it’s name and closing shortly after opening. It’s a perfect combination of rustic and industrial, frankly two of my favorite design aesthetics.
We quickly decided that we would all order and share, family style, the best way to eat! Here is what we ordered:
Sheep’s Milk Ricotta with sea salt and herbs
Local Snap Peas with Sicilian pesto and radish
Wild Mushroom Orzo with grana-padano and thyme
Rustic Potatoes with garlic and parmigiano-reggiano
Organic Spinach with crispy chickpeas and ricotta salata
The Crostini of the Day:Fava Beans, Pesto and Cheese. See my take on this recipe below!
Scampi Ravioili with rock shrimp, zucchini and toasted garlic
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style="text-align: left;">Everything was OUTRAGEOUSLY good. I was completely sold. When in NYC, definitely check out Locanda Verde.
I Luhved the Crostini sooo much that I decided to try to create my own version at home for lunch today. Check it out!
1. First I started with a nice 7 grain bread that I picked up at my local farmers market. It is my favorite!
2. Now it’s time for the garlic. I learned this trick from my pal Rosemary, who on top of being the webmaster and head honcho at Rachaelray.com, has a penchant for fresh garlic. She takes a piece of raw garlic and rubs it on crusty bread in the morning. It’s delicious and now that I have learned it I am obsessed!
3. Next it was time to spread some pesto on the bread. I usually make my own fresh pesto, but this morning I used Buitoni pesto and it was delish!
4. I topped the pest with steamed Fava beans just like they did at Locanda Verde
5. Then a dollop of ricotta cheese and my crostini is almost there
6. Finally a little bit of sea salt and tada!
SEE WHAT EVETTE IS UP TO! FOLLOW HER ON:
06.16.10 @ 10:13 am
Delicious, Evette! It’s so cool that I can make something like they serve in a fancy NYC restaurant right at home. Of course, that’s always the great thing about Rach! I couldn’t find fava beans when I did this, and tried lima beans, and it was really good, but I like lima beans!
06.24.10 @ 9:11 am
I work nearby Locanda Verde and ate there recently, I agree it was fab. I had a lamb panini served with the most amazing garbanzo bean “fries” (they actually looked like french fries)! Talk about YUM-O!!
07.20.10 @ 3:29 pm
Locanda Verde looks like a fabulous place to eat.