DEPARTURES MAGAZINE

November / December 2002

Manhattan's Newest Tables

By Mimi Sheraton

Through a difficult year, the city has more than persevered—it has thrived.
Mimi Sheraton takes a measure of the recovery in a crop of new restaurants.

Restaurants have always been reliable barometers of the economic and psychic climate of a city.
It is encouraging, then, that as New York recovers from 9/11, optimistic chefs and restaurateurs
are opening ambitious new efforts at a dazzling rate.

Who could have known that the often-denigrated cuisines of southern Italy would one day be considered cutting edge?
The answer: Il Gattopardo's affable patrone, Gianfranco Sorrentino—formerly of Bice and Sette MoMA—
and his talented chef, Vito Gnazzo, who both come from Campagna.
Named for Giuseppe di Lampedusa's Sicilian novel The Leopard, Il Gattopardo opened in the aftermath of 9/11,
and it has taken a while for the stylish, restrained versions of southern Italian dishes to gain the recognition that they deserve.
Whether you find yourself in the somewhat stark dining room of white brick and mirrors or in the tiny enclosed garden,
start with artichoke parmigiana baked with smoked mozzarella;
light meatballs wrapped in cabbage leaves; or braised escarole with black olives, anchovies, and pignoli nuts.
If not those, then order one of the pastas, like the spaghetti chitarra with a sauce of fresh tomatoes,
the paccheri (rigatoni) with a meaty Genovese sauce sweetened with simmered onions,
or the orecchiette ("little ears") with tomato and minced shellfish.
There's a nurturing fish-and-shellfish soup-stew, and rosy, herb-encrusted lamb accompanied by potato croquettes.
The masterpiece is the tomato-sauced meat loaf, flecked with hard-cooked egg, salami, and peas.
If that leaves you too full for the Neapolitan specialty pastiera, a rosewater-perfumed Easter cheesecake, try the lemon tart.

Dinner, $100. At 33 W. 54th St.; 212-246-0412; fax 212-246-3332.

IL GATTOPARDO Restaurant & Catering

33 West 54th Street / New York New York 10019 / Tel 212 246 0412 / Fax 212 246 3332

Reservations are recomended, please contact us at 212 246 0412

Lunch / Mon - Sun, 12 noon to 3 pm /// Dinner / Mon - Sat, 5 pm to 11:30 pm /// Sunday Dinner / 5 pm to 10 pm