Story & Photography by Manos Angelakis
 

Macelleria
48 Gansevoort Street
New York, NY 10014
(212)-741-2555

When I first arrived in Manhattan, the area around the western end of 14^th Street was a no man’s land. Meatpacking wholesale companies, other restaurant suppliers, and printers occupied most buildings and, even though traffic early in the morning was horrendous with delivery trucks congesting the streets, after 6pm the entire area was practically deserted and not safe for man or beast. Twenty years forward: the Meatpacking District is a happening area with trendy boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and bars in almost every building vying for space with the wholesale butchers, spice merchants, and other remnants of the previous businesses in the area. Young men and women hurry about in the streets until very early in the morning, and the entire area is as bustling as any other New York City neighborhood.

Macelleria was one of the early restaurants that opened on Gansevoort Street eight years ago to take advantage of the proximity to high quality meat resources. It occupies the storefront of what used to be a butcher shop. A large industrial scale by the door and meat hooks on the brick walls are reminders of the previous tenant. In the summer, tables are placed on the street and the little square near the entrance, just as one can find in any neighborhood in Italy.

While waiting for the third member of our party to arrive, we tasted the bartender’s – whose name is Shariff – special Martini creations. Barbara had a French Martini, a blend of Pineapple Juice, Grey Goose Vodka, and Chambord, while I, being very conservative, asked for a “Very dry Vodka Martini, stirred not shaken, hold the fruit”. I can’t help it if it sounds right our of Ian Fleming… That’s the way I like my Martini.  

The menu is basically Italian-American. Chilled oysters and clams redolent of the sea, as well as clams casino, fresh bufala mozzarella, mixed Italian salami and proscutto, and savory salads are the openers. We had large shrimp, clams, and oysters, and they were absolutely fresh and delicious, though a little too chilled. The bufala mozzarella melted in your mouth, with garden-fresh basil giving it a taste boost.

Pastas were our primo piatto. We loved the classic Paglia e Fieno (straw and hay), a dish with both white and green tagliolini in a creamy sauce with peas and proscutto. The Pappardelle al cinghiale, with minced wild boar meat sauce, was also very good.

But, the piece de resistance was the prime, dry-aged Porterhouse. This was almost 3 inch thick, tender, expertly grilled so that there were both medium rare and very rare sections, to satisfy both my and my companions’ tastes. A side of fried zucchini was nicely crisp, as the zucchini was slivered and battered, before deep-frying. Unfortunately, a discordant note was the side of roasted potatoes. We had a discussion because Barbara said she liked them that way, our friend thought they were overcooked and burned, and I was neutral. But the Broccoli de Rape was properly crunchy and bitter, and the creamed spinach, properly sweet, though a bit on the thin side. 

In future visits, I would like to try the chestnut ravioli that made the table next to us moan with pleasure, the veal piccata with artichoke hearts, or the chicken scarpariello, another classic Italian dish made with chicken, spicy sausage and mushrooms.

The wine list had mostly good Italian wines – Tuscan Brunellos, Piemontese Barolos and Barbarescos, Amarone, Valpolicella, and Verdicchio from Friuli and the Veneto, were the most interesting. There were numerous good vintages with older bottles on the list from 1997, 1999, and 2001; vintages that are just starting to come to their own. However, there was also a large number of much younger wines; some were just too young and in need of cellar aging. They are drinkable now, but need age for the astringency to mellow, aromas to develop, and tannins to subside.

Even though we were full, we braved the tiramisù – one good size piece, very authentic, three forks. The espresso, my barometer on an Italian restaurant’s quality and expertise, was properly drawn with lots of crema.

And a good time was had by all.

© March 2008 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.