Mezzogiorno

[Katie Meadow]

Every time I come to NY I go with my family to Mezzogiorno. My mother has been eating there since she got an Italian boyfriend in 1970. It's the best! And the space is lovely, especially if you can get a table near the open doors in good weather. They serve the full menu all afternoon, so if you want a quiet leisurely meal go during off hours.

No one here ever mentions it. Last summer my brother and I had soft-shell crabs that made us both weak in the knees. I adore the tuna carpaccio; it's succulent and generous. My mom loves the prosciutto. I have to limit tomatoes, and they don't list a white linguini with clams on the menu but they were happy to make it for me. The clams were perfect--pasta necks or little necks (I don't know the difference)--really tender and sweet, and the sauce was a very simple white wine and garlic--no cream, not overly garlicky, so really subtle and delicate. I think linguini alla vongole bianco is one of the hardest dishes to make well; you can't hide anything in it and it can't be glopped up with too much oil or garlic or any cream.

My husband had a terrific black linguini with a spicy tomato sauce. It was amazing. My mother always gets something with veal and always loves it. And we always order the Sardinian white wine. It's delicious and not expensive. I can never resist the blood orange sorbet for dessert, and I can never believe how generous the portions are--three good size scoops. My husband had the zabaglione and it was fabulous. They also threw in a plate of wonderful cookies gratis.

One thing I've never ordered is the pizza. They have a wood-burning oven and it's probably good pizza. Next time.

[patrickamory]

Last time I went there was in 1987, and I literally walk past it every day on the way to work. It's three blocks from my office and I sometimes flirt with the idea of having lunch there instead of the other local Italian. But it's smack in the middle of tourist central and I worry that they're just coasting on their location - it's very rare for a New York restaurant to last that long and still offer quality.

And then I doublecheck the latest Yelp reviews - not that Yelp is reliable by any means - and get worried when I read about "reheated gummy pastas with a sprig of parsley" and lasagna that's "bland and mostly tasteless."

That's what my gut tells me to expect based on the location, the slightly run-down appearance and the fact it's been around so long.

But I want it to be good - I remember it being excellent on that one visit all those years ago - it's incredibly convenient to me, and in a lunch desert - so on the basis of your recommendation maybe I'll give it a try.

[patrickamory]

Update: took an artist there for lunch today. Complete success. First off, the bread was superb - chewy and just salty enough. Really really good. For appetizers we split the black label Parma ham with salami and figs - superb meats and perfectly fresh figs, the grilled eggplant croquesttes, and the arugula, radicchio and parmigiano salad. All great.

I had the lasagna bolognese, and other people had fiochetti with cheese and pear, the tagliolini with crab (not something I would have advocated ordering), and the trenette with clams and green olives.

Everyone extremely happy. I will go again. Thanks for the recommendation - so good to find another decent lunch meeting place near us.