New
York City certainly has its fill of restaurants, from a diverse range of
cultures and celebrity chefs, it seems like there’s another “it” place to visit
every week. Still, it boasts a number of long-running institutions and during
this visit, I wanted to dine at an old school red sauce Italian restaurant,
somewhere that would even satisfy Tony Soprano. While most of the Italian American
restaurants are in Queens and Brooklyn, Gene’s is located in Manhattan’s Greenwich
Village, a manageable walk from our hotel.
Started
by Gene DeMichaelis in 1919, I was glad to see it hasn’t been updated much
since the 50s - dim lighting, a quiet ambience, antique oil paintings, and staff wearing
suits with short jackets - this was the restaurant I was looking for. Each
table even receives the traditional crudités on ice and bread basket that’s synonymous
with old school fine-dining. The mammoth-sized radishes would be like eating an
apple, but the celery and carrot sticks were surprisingly crunchy and
satisfying. In preparation for the carbohydrates to come, I only had a bite
from the bread basket, which turned out to be pumpernickel studded with raisins
(sounds weird but actually rather delicious).
Although
the Caesar salad ($13.95) isn’t made table-side, the dressing seems house-made.
While you taste the garlic, the anchovy and Parmesan flavours are also
pronounced, so despite the salad not being heavily dressed, it was full of
flavour.
Their linguine
in white clam sauce ($19.95) incorporates the clam juice, olive oil, and garlic
base I look for with seafood pastas. On its own the broth was a tad salty, but
with the al dente linguine the sauce was perfect. Moreover, the sweet clams were a larger
variety and came removed from their shell and cut into larger chunks. It made
eating the pasta a breeze and ensured it didn’t have any gritty bits
from the clams. It was a delicious main and also paired nicely with the side of
spinach aglio olio ($11.95), a hefty
plate of greens stir fried with olive oil and garlic.
Gene’s
eggplant parmigiana ($15.95) is constructed
as layers of eggplant, sauce, and cheese so the dish ends up resembling a
richer lasagna than the typical deep fried eggplant slices. It’s a big portion,
but you can’t feel like it could still use some pasta. Accordingly, if paired
with a plate as spaghetti marinara and shared with another person, it’d be even
better.
Unlike
other places in New York where a cocktail will set you back $16, at Gene’s we
found a reasonably priced bottle of merlot for $24 and their pour of Magellan
18 year old scotch ($32) must have been close to 3 ounces. Judging by the
number of people seated around their bar, Gene’s seems to be a popular place
for drinks and light snacks as well.
Their
tiramisu ($8.95; cake pictured below is a half order as they kindly split it)
incorporates zabaglione, a luscious
egg custard, with enough marsala wine for an adult zip of flavour. It helps
balance out the sweetness of the mascarpone and ensures the tiramisu doesn’t
just taste like espresso and unsweetened chocolate powder.
While
visiting a city, I always strive to try their local cuisine. In a diverse city
like New York, this mandate may be difficult since their food combines so many
worldly flavours. Nonetheless, their American take on Italian cuisine is
probably some of the best in the city and is a stop on the culinary tour
that shouldn’t be missed.
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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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