Hi all...been lurking for a while but recently registered for the site. I've never posted, but last night I had a restaurant experience for which I must thank you all. On the recommendations of posters in this thread and in others, my partner and I went to Arthur Avenue last night and ate at Roberto's which (who knew) was a 15 minute #12 bus ride from my apartment in Inwood in Upper Manhattan. Man, am I glad I paid attention. We had the shrimp w/fennel and arugula appetizer, along with the caprese di bufalo which had roasted peppers and mushrooms. Both were amazing--I think a good way to start in a good Italian place is to taste their mozzarella as is to see what it's like. This one more than passed muster. For the entree, I had the fusilli in cartoccio and my partner had the veal scaloppini on the specials board which had mushrooms, cheese and asparagus along with some sort of dryish thinly sliced meat. You know how some food makes you smile? Once in a while, a great dish will make me laugh. I was so giddy trying this veal dish that I forgot to figure out what that thinly sliced meat was. As for the fusilli it was, as promised, ethereal. My only regret was that I was too full to sop up more than half of the liquid with my bread. Dessert was great too--I had a tartuffo and my partner had a small chocolate souffle. Oops, I have one more regret. They were out of the zucchini flowers starter by the time I got there. This would have been perfect for me--I grew up in the South where a summertime local delicacy was what we called "french fried squash blooms." Oh well, I'll have to save that trip down memory lane for a return trip. Bottom line, the service was efficient and unhurried, the atmosphere was fun (three birthdays complete with three renditions of what is evidently the traditional house birthday song), and the visit from Roberto left me speechless. Varmint and everyone else, I wouldn't miss this place for the world. Definitely my kind of place--unpretentious and welcoming with amazing food--easily the best Italian I've ever had including a week in Italy. Thanks to everyone for letting me know about it! Jamie
