NYC - Bites & Buzz - Week of July 8, 2002
 Restaurants
Week of July 8, 2002
 

additions
No Crust, No Fuss
You might think of the tramezzino -- the Venetian take on the English tea sandwich -- as the Arch Deluxe, or at least the Filet-O-Fish, of Italian fast food: In New York's ever-expanding panini-and-wine-bar world, it lives in the hot-and-crunchy shadow of the more popular pressed panino. Typically served on crustless white bread, cut into neat little triangles, and looking like an overgrown canap�, it practically defies you not to raise a pinkie. Unlike a cucumber sandwich, though, it can pack a serious flavor punch, which explains why even San Domenico owner Tony May has jumped on the sandwich bandwagon with a new tramezzini lunch menu, served at the bar. The selection of $4.50 sandwiches, like vitello tonnato, Gorgonzola and walnut, and prosciutto cotto and fontina, changes daily. (Two tramezzini make a nice light lunch.) There's also an expanded by-the-glass wine list to complement the sandwiches, and not a ciabatta crumb in sight.
San Domenico
240 Central Park South
212-265-5959

 

best of the week
Bastille Day Pétanque Tournament
Veuve Clicquot sponsors a day of p�tanque -- the French version of boccie -- to mark France's national holiday and benefit the Children's Museum of the Arts. MacDougal Street will be covered with sand to make the courts; 50 top restaurants send teams to compete, and there's a dinner afterward at Restaurant Provence. (July 14; to reserve, call 212-475-7500.)

 

new menu
Night Shift
Not that anyone who lives on Clinton Street is in danger of running out of dining options these days, but here's a new one: The Clinton St. Baking Company, which already has a devoted following for its nothin'-fancy-just-good-eats breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch, has just added dinner to its repertoire. On the menu: lemon pasta with anchovy, fresh garlic, and olive oil; pan-fried Eden Brook trout; and a serious burger plate. And in case anyone misses breakfast, chef Neil Kleinberg will whip up a batch of his killer pancakes packed with enough wild Maine blueberries to satisfy a small grizzly.
The Clinton St. Baking Company
4 Clinton Street
646-602-6263

 

Ask Gael
I crave a new spot to launch my day.
Looking for a breakfast nook without the usual suspects and nary a frisson of power? Cucina & Co., in the concourse at 30 Rock, has a welcome languor (at least this morning) and a numbingly huge frittata. It's a rustic and luscious tumble of sausage, onion, and peppers today, with a side of r�sti potatoes. And the egg-white omelette with asparagus and tomato, ebulliently generous too, comes minus the guilt. Prices are coffee-shop gentle: $6 for the Continental breakfast, $6.50 for two eggs with r�sti, fresh juice, and coffee. What do New Yorkers like for breakfast? Low-fat yogurt smoothies, fresh fruit salad, brioche French toast, granola and berries, pancakes with Vermont maple syrup, outsize muffins and scones. It's all here. Find a quiet table to gossip or cinch a deal, or steal a few minutes longer with your mate (or someone else's) and no busybodies to call "Page Six."
Cucina & Co
30 Rockefeller Plaza, concourse level
212-332-7630

Bites & Buzz Archive

Week of July 1
The first-ever City Bakery State Fair; seriously sophisticated gelato; an independence day feast; Gael examines the allure of Da Silvano Cantinetta
Week of June 17
Manhattan clambakes; Turkish dining at Beyoglu; a chilled peach drink; and Gael Greene on classic dishes from Naples at Il Gattopardo.
Week of June 10
Brooklyn's Sardinian wine bar; Aquavit's Herring Week; strawberry fever; the Greek yogurt tycoon; Gael finds the perfect spot for t�te-�-t�tes.

and more ...



Photos: From top to bottom- Carina Salvi (first and third);Kenneth Chen.