Pepolino

On a snowy winter night, I maneuvered 6 friends into dinner at Pepolino. It's been a long-standing favorite of mine and I was thrilled to see the spinach souffle back on the menu. Think the word "luscious" can't apply to spinach? Think again. The dish of tomato confit that's served alongside bread is addicting. My friend from L.A. was thrilled with his Octopus and black-olive dish, but I'm loyal to the braised leek spaghetti (another under appreciated vegetable that's transformed here), served perfectly al dente. But there's one thing you simply must have: the sublime cheesecake. Cheesecake is even the wrong word for it--more like a ricotta tart--so delicate and ethereal. Ed Levine acknowledged them in his NY Times cheesecake roundup a couple of years back. All their desserts are terrific (was that why I invited 6 friends...so I could share several items at once?!).

Pepolino

When good food mingles with a beautiful space and attentive service you have the makings of a loyal patron and excellent word of mouth from one of our readers:

"We had a great dinner at Pepolino last night. I have actually not been here for sometime and I don't know why. The food is fabulous and the space is beautiful. Both of us each had one of the specials, my friend had the risotto which was amazing and I had the branzino, perfectly cooked and really tasty. When we got there we told the server that we had theater tickets so we only had an hour and we were still able to fit in three courses without feeling rushed. We finished with espresso and chocolate cake. I even had time to chat with Enzo, one of the owners, on my way out. Now that I have rediscovered this place, I plan to become a regular, like most of the patrons who were there last night."