Little Italy: Suggestions for teens w/ little cash?
So my friend(s) and I might go to Little Italy this week, and we're trying to figure out what's a great place to go. We don't want some Sbarro "American-Italian" trash, and would like someplace as Authentic as possible on a budget...
We'd prefer someplace with somewhat large portions so we can share with each other. About $20 would be the maximum we'd pay for a main dish. Please provide an address if you can!
Thank you to all who reply! :)
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12 Comments:
I'm guessing you mean Little Italy in Manhattan?
Cybele May at 10:56PM on 08/18/08
Sorry, I see now that this is filed under NYC (I saw it in the general list and didn't want to lead you astray!)
Cybele May at 10:57PM on 08/18/08
This is just my anecdotal experience but I have not had good luck finding good Italian food at a good price in little Italy. If you have your heart set on Italian I wouldn't limit myself to that neighborhood as many of the better Italian restaurants are located elsewhere.
bobbob at 9:08AM on 08/19/08
Little Italy doesn't really exist in Manhattan anymore. There are about 2 blocks of what used to be Little Italy left on Mulberry Street but what's there is mostly touristy and not very good. Try Po on Cornelia St in the village.
VerasTastyFreeze at 10:03AM on 08/19/08
Yeah, there's not much there anymore, but if you are resolved to check it out, I might suggest planning on stopping in for a pastry and espresso somewhere, saving the rest of your money for some place else. However, you can get better pastry--fantastic cannoli, how I miss them...--at the pastry shops on 1st Ave. around 11th-12th St.
Years ago (2001-ish) I inadvertently made 2 visits to the same restaurant on Mulberry, Amici II. I enjoyed it immensely at the time, and it was quite manageable on my college budget. It's authentic in the Little Italy-sense, not in the regional Italian cuisine sense. Both times I went it was populated with some seriously eccentric characters, but that might have been sheer coincidence.
However, if your group is 4 or more, consider Carmine's (not in Little Italy). They serve family style, so a caesar salad and a pasta is plenty for 4, throw in a manageable veal marsala and you will be stuffed and out of there for under $20 a head before tip.
renzata at 12:17PM on 08/19/08
The whole of Little Italy is "American-Italian." Ill conceived recipes and sloppy execution are what makes trash.
MaxCaviar at 2:27PM on 08/19/08
Thank you, everybody!
Yeah, I'm really kind of disappointed that Little Italy turns out to be more tourist-y than I expected. I've always assumed it was like Chinatown/Flushing where you can get authentic Chinese food since there's a large Chinese population, except replace it with Italians w/ Italian food...
I do like some of these suggestions though! Most of them sound pretty good from what I've looked up, so I'll be keeping these suggestions handy for future trips to The City :)
forsheezy at 7:01AM on 08/20/08
Sbarro "American-Italian" trash...
Actually, my family knew the Sbarro family personally. The original store is (was) on the corner of 17th Avenue and 65th Street - and it was nothing about the fast food served today in malls everywhere. It was difficult to find better orancini than those offered at the original Sbarro location.
In any case, you can get lots of good food in Little Italy, NYC, regardless of its dwindling size. For budget-minded diners, I would have recommended Vincent's when it was more like a cafeteria and they didn't have the audacity to charge for extra sauce. However, they "gentrified" and have somewhat priced themselves out of that "budget-minded" category.
IIRC, Puglia is about as authentic as it gets in Little Italy and some accounts say that the menu is reasonably priced. (I haven't been there in years and I'm sure prices have gone up, especially with today's lousy economy.)
Here is a nice compendium of what's available in Little Italy.
therealchiffonade at 7:43AM on 08/20/08
I love Via Emilia for their lasagna.
sweetntart at 10:47AM on 08/20/08
I like Sbarro pizza. And I am Italian-American trash, so it's a good fit, I suppose.
Cybele May at 12:23PM on 08/20/08
Go to Nonya and eat Singaporean/Malay food and consider this a favour.
pemabuk at 4:32PM on 08/22/08
On Elizabeth & Houston: Parisi's Bakery. Amazing Sandwiches, under $7 bucks.
HungryItalianGirl at 4:14PM on 08/26/08