My friend, Amy, whom I visit every year, is my source for good food in New York City.  A native New Yorker who dines out almost everyday, Amy introduces me to L’Apicio when I visited her in May. Located at Downtown Manhattan, L’Apicio is an Italian inspired restaurant.

Amy, my partner and I went there on Memorial Day, which is a pubic holiday, and we were surprised that the restaurant was rather quiet. It could be that most of the locals had travelled out of the city over the long weekend.

We ordered our respective mains and a couple of appetisers to share.  The Grilled Asparagus is superb and is well executed. It is slightly crisp on the outside and is crunchy. When paired with the slightly tangy aioli sauce, the asparagus comes alive.

The Grilled Octopus is also another must-have dishes. The octopus is tender and has a hint of smoky flavour. It is accompanied perfectly with a very refreshing fregola. The Sardinia pasta has a salty and lemony zing to it and it complements the octopus perfectly.

We also ordered the Orecchiette to share. This pasta dish is so well executed that Amy decided that she wants to come back for more. For someone who dislikes broccoli, I’m surprised that I was drawn to this broccoli rabe pesto coated orecchiette. I guess the spicy sausage ragu balances out the broccoli rabe pesto that the latter taste did not come up too strong. We loved this dish so much that we literally polished the bowl clean.

The Pork Chop with confit carrots and English peas is excellent. Packed with lots of flavour, the pork chop is evenly cooked, tender and moist. It’s one of the better pork chops I’ve eaten during this trip.

The Roasted Chicken is equally good. The bird is well marinated and juicy, and the paper-thin skin is so crispy that I wouldn’t mind having more of it. The half chicken comes with a fair amount of potatoes and hence, it can be quite a substantial meal.

Amy had her Roasted Mushroom polenta. It’s not a big portion and hence, not too overwhelming and heavy. This pasta dish is generally nice, however, the salt was not even out and some spoons of the polenta were a tad too salty.

But my favourite has to be the dessert, Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream Cake. This ice cream cake is so good that I don’t mind spending an hour in the gym everyday just to have it every night. The salted caramel sauce complements the chocolate and hazelnut ice cream perfectly. The additional hazelnut also gives the ice cream cake more bite and crunch. It’s a perfect harmony when you bite into this outrageously good dessert.

L’Apicio is definitely a keeper. I would want to come back to this restaurant again should I visit New York City again next year.

L’Apicio
13 East First Street,
New York, New York 10003
Tel: (212) 533 7400
www.lapicio.com