#InauguralReview Introducing #LAngeletto by #ExecutiveChef #DavidBrungoli and #AustinBrahj 327 Second Avenue at 19th Street
Executive Chef and Owner David Brungoli with his Smoked Pork Shank above and Italian Sausage Spaghetti with Lemon below
The best new Italian spot that you haven't yet been to or heard of is without a doubt L'Angeletto. The brainchild of Executive Chef and Owner David Brungoli, whom we worked with on our first visit, is named after the Via d'Angeletto of the Rione Monti neighborhood near the Colosseum in Rome. Of course David is a Rome native and Italy's loss is Manhattan's gain: we believe you will quite concur when you are silenced by the quality evidenced by the culinary magnificence placed in front of you. Seating up to sixty, L'Angeletto is also owned by Austin Brahj and it opened January 10, 2020 and it is their second restaurant; the first is Angeletto which opened in June 2018 on Second Avenue and 48th Street. David's culinary career began in 1995 in Rome and from then until 2017 he worked at three Roman restaurants prior to coming to America and opening his restaurants. He graciously greeted us the minute we walked in the door and had a lovely bottle of red ready.
The quality control implemented here is impressive; David personally goes to Hunts Point Market a few times a week and picks out all of the ingredients that are local like fish, eggs, semolina and produce except for the San Marzano Tomatoes which of course are from Italy. No cream at all is used here.
This first salad is the signature salad of this venue: Insalata Dell'Angeletto. It's a fennel salad highlighted with Roquefort Cheese from France, Walnuts and Bosc Pears, and a lemon extra virgin olive oil (evoo) dressing joins the party.
As avid readers know, you know who does not like salad dressing and that is probably because most American dressings are not fresh and loaded with what we don't write about. This is fresh and we reveled in the simplicity. All ingredients here we found to be uberfresh as did every item that followed throughout our inaugural meal at L'Angeletto. The name also means petite, like little sibling of the first restaurant which we have yet to visit.
We also tried the Mixed Green Salad which also boasted fabulous roasted carrots, walnuts, goat cheese, bosc pear and smashing red beets; it is joined by evoo and balsamic which was again put on the side for Ms. Pretty Picky. After the salad section, we chose the Gamberi Al Brandy which is served with both the head and the tail; this reminds us of the fantastic fish market scene in Purple Noon with Alain Delon which everyone knows is in Italy. Shrimp (Gamberi) revels in Brandy and is perfectly punctuated with cherry tomatoes, all of which pleasantly luxuriates on cannellini beans. You and your knife are the guillotine or if you don't want to see the face or tails you can ask them to make sure they come with them removed prior to the Gamberi arriving at your table. Delicious and exquisite, this dish is not to be skipped.
If for some silly reason you haven't been reading the last 14 years and are new to Whom You Know you should know pictures are never, ever edited. We publish the truth: you need to excel like David.
There are menus with Pasta, but we like menus with two pasta sections like this one because Peachy is close friends with Carbs and Gluten.
All pasta here is made on premises.
Under the regular Pasta section, not that any of this is regular: it is superior, meet David's favorite pasta: Spaghetti, Italian Sausage and Lemon sauce. The pork sausage is finely ground with precision and entirely delicate, and is sourced from the Bologna Region of Italy. If you think you have had every pasta dish, think again because this is a David Original bespoke custom creation. The ingredients are in perfect proportion to each other and the contrasting flavors beautifully awaken your palate to a new day dawning in Italy. Remember: no butter or heavy cream, just parmesean and evoo lemon sauce.
From every angle, the Bucatini All'Amatriciana looks delicious, and it is.
It's from the second pasta section of the menu titled: Traditional Roman Pasta.
Life is too short to eat Roman Pasta not made by somebody from Rome!
Smoked Pancetta, San Marzano Tomato Sauce and Pecorino Romano to-die-for amazingly hits the spot on a cold winter night. Again, all ingredients announce to your palate they are in perfect proportion.
If you want something to quack about, go for the Petto D'Anatra! Joined by carrots and zucchini, this duck is medium-cooked and is not at all gamey. It's accentuated with a light honey mustard. First it is pan-fried, and the fat is removed as it melts off resulting in a purity of duck essence that is majestically placed in front of you, finished with evoo. Obviously evoo is from Italy. This artisan presentation is coveted by the dining elite.
L'Angeletto pays great attention to detail and has an impressive depth of culinary staff. David personally explained all dishes to us and answered the myriad of questions one comes to expect from our visits. And yes they gave us a proper knife to cut and we also had a seafood fork earlier for the shrimp. They showed us they know what they are doing on our inaugural visit.
Stinco di Male: Slow Cooked Smoked Pork Shank is King of the Mountain of comforting mashed potatoes and green beans. This is what dinner is supposed to look like!
The Pork Shank is slow cooked for three hours culminating in a superlative tenderness that this level of care achieves. Carrots, celery and onions bring out the pork flavor and the warmth of this dish will light up your winter night. We hear it is also equally desired on hot summer days.
Peachy's favorite menu item without a doubt was the Rigatoni Alla Carbonara which was the most short-lived item of the review and it did not live to see the light of day. Pictures do not do this dish justice and you cannot pass go and collect $200 at L'Angeletto according to Peachy without trying this. Even with Peachy's elephant memory, she cannot remember the last time she had a Carbonara this top-notch. Egg yolk, Pecorino Romano and Smoked Pancetta are the holy trinity here: the Semolina flour and eggs are local but the other ingredients are from Italy. Black pepper is added and there is no cream. The creamy texture is yielded by the quality Italian ingredients and Italian culinary skills.
Valpolicella Ripasso is a fruity, complex red wine from the Valpolicella viticultural zone of Veneto, in the northeast of Italy and its versality ensured it paired well with every culinary aspect of L'Angeletto we experienced. The final entree we tried was the Salmone Al Forno: Baked Salmon with green beans, which are fagiolini in Italian of course. Remember, David personally goes to Hunts Point to select each and every one of these swimmers for your dinner and it arrives in style cooked to an ideal medium.
All Tiramisu is not created equally: some is just superior.
The presentation is phenomenal and the quality of flavor is even better. But even better than this was the Pistachio Tartuffo -the gelato is from Italy. If you are not eating this Pistachio Tartuffo you are not living your best life; we do not ever remember having it before.
L'Angeletto impressed us on our first visit; we look forward to seeing what they do next!
