Stanley and I had the great pleasure of dining at the recently opened Da Toscano on Minetta Lane.
The most recent occupant of this space was Perla, and after a couple of years of remaining empty, it has been taken over by the former chef of Perla, Michael Toscano.
What he has accomplished here is remarkable. Even though the gas has not yet been turned on, the kitchen is functioning with electric hot plates and turning out wonderful food.
The menu is imaginative and varied. Main courses are huge and can easily be shared. We started with the minestra with pig snout and tripe and a special, crudo of razor clams. Initially, they mistakenly brought a plate of trout crudo, so I got to try both that and the clams, which were extremely delicious.
For our main courses, we had the pork chop wrapped in crisp pork belly and the veal head parmigiana. These were phenomenal, and we ended up taking home half of each, which made for a fabulous lunch the next day.
We shared the cheese cake for dessert. There is a small but nice selection of beers. We liked the “Stranger than Fiction” porter.
I can’t wait to come back and try some of the pastas.
Robert Rems' Open House 