L'Impero

[Wilfrid]

Sorry, if I'd slowed down I would have managed to translate capretto; good, it certainly doesn't sound like I should be cancelling my reservation anyway.

[Wilfrid]

I went along for the reservation I'd had in place before Robert Schonfeld posted. He and Marcus had it about right, so I won't add much. It's a large place, it was packed on Saturday night, and very noisy. The candlelit ambience in the old Tudor City Place building would be romantic if you could hear your dining companion. I had no expectations of Italian authenticity; we judged it a pleasant meal. I wouldn't choose it over San Domenico, and I'm not sure it was all that much better than I Trulli, a less ambitious Italian restaurant we dined at a week ago.

One comment, I thought it was suprisingly inexpensive given its location and apparent target audience. Four courses - appetizer, pasta, entree, dessert - for less than fifty dollars is cheap these days. Okay, $49 a head - and there are a number of supplements, but not big ones, typically $4. We drank a thoroughly disappointing and expensive Brunello di Montalcino, but there are reasonably priced Italian bottles on the list, and I think two people could come out of here for less than two hundred bucks. Not easy these days. But aside from budgetary reasons, why go back?

[mogsob]

Wilfrid -- I mostly agree with your post, although I found the food to be, other than the pasta course, better than I Trulli (I do love their wine bar, though). That said,

Five Reasons Why I Will Go Back To L'Impero

1. It is very reasonable for that level of restaurant.

2. It is four blocks from my NY office.

3. They have a fun wine list to explore, without dire financial consequences.

4. I loved the polenta with wild mushrooms -- I will crave this now and again.

5. During the week, it is a bit more sedate and very nice to dine in.

Would I choose it over any Italian restaurant in NYC -- no, but it is about half the cost of those I like best (Mulino, Scalinatella, San Domenico) and that is a factor.

I think that if L'Impero served the same food downtown in a rustic setting, it would be hailed as the next great restaurant. It's midtown location and upscale decor project expectations that the kitchen has no intention of meeting -- just a thought.

[Wilfrid]

Fair comments there. I did enjoy the polenta which came with the mushrooms, but found the mushrooms a bit flat - I could do no better or worse sauteeing up a handful from the local food store. But yes, very reasonable.

[coughy]

Had dinner last night at L'Impero. The food was delicious, especially the creamy polenta with spring vegetables and mushrooms. Service was very attentive. I found it odd that a restaurant that was named one of the 10 best Italian restaurants in NYC was emptied out by 9:30.

[Steve Klc]

L'Impero also picked up the Beard Best New Restaurant award this year. How did you like Heather Carlucci's desserts? Would you care to describe them?

[coughy]

The desserts were delicious. We were 4 so we shared. First was a yogurt semifreddo with peaches and a sesame baklava. The yogurt, I thought was delicious. It was on the sour side but when eaten with the baklava was perfect. I didn't love the peach. Then we had Chocolate Soup. I barely was able to get a taste of the pastry that came with it - I wasn't fast enough but the Soup was really chocolatey and delicious. The Chocolate Mousse with olive oil was strange. I didn't get a real chocolate sensation and I just tasted olive oil. I would not order this again. The last dessert was the gelato which was delicious.

After the desserts were done they brought a little sampler platter of sweets. I loved the chocolate hazelnut truffle. It was rich and sinful. The dates were just okay and there was a tiny square of a cake that was dry.

[Felonius]

I was having lunch at the Jean-Georges/Nougatine bar today and struck up a conversation with the woman next to me. It turns out she was formerly the pastry chef at Veritas (one of my favorite NYC restaurants) and is now working at an Italian place called L'Impero in Tudor City. I'd be curious to hear opinions from anyone who's dined there. I may give it a try tomorrow.

[tommy]

i always *wanted* to go. does that count?

here's their website.

[rozrapp]

Gosh, you guys are quick! Felonius, I knew immediately that you were referring to L'Impero, but before I posted, I went looking for a previous thread in which I recalled the pastry chef, Heather Carlucci, was discussed. Well, by the time I found it, you had already figured out the restaurant's name.

I have not yet been to L'Impero, though it's on my "go to" list. And, by the way, Veritas is one of my favorite restaurants as well.

[gracelee]

HI:

My husband and I went there last Saturday. We could only get an early reservation, but it was worth it. There was no air conditioning, the windows were all open, but it was a pleasant day. There's also road construction going on in front of the restaurant. But the room is light and airy and tables are not too close together.

We had the prix fixe. I started with a sauteed softshell crab, served with a crisp and tart cabbage slaw. I then had the homemade (?) spaghetti with tomato and basil, which is one of their signature dishes. A tad cooked more than al dente. Our main course was the moist roasted capretto (kid). We each had the composed cheese plate. Each comes in a little rectangular dish with their accompanying savory.

Service was very professional and the waiter was very familiar with the wine list and cheeses. Mine were the parmesam (cow's milk) with 12 yr. old balsamic, pecorino pienza (sheep's milk) with green tomato and a robiola. We drank a very good Italian red. I'll write back and post which one! Wine glasses are of Riedel or Spigelau quality. Everything quite delicious. Go if you can get a table.

-Grace

[Felonius]

The rapidity and thoughtfulness with which people respond on this board never ceases to amaze me. Thanks to all for the info and the review. I'll have to visit L'Impero soon, and will post a review on this thread.

[Fat Guy]

For what it's worth, L'Impero did quite well at the James Beard Awards this year. Vicente Wolf got the Outstanding Restaurant Design award for his work on the place (these awards go to designers, not restaurants, but it's effectively an award for the restaurant as well), and the restaurant received the Best New Restaurant award (which is a nationwide award, as opposed to the regional best-chef awards).

[eatingwitheddie]

The chef, Scott Conant, and I worked together on a project a few years ago. He cooks excellent food, especially starters/pastas. If available you might try:

Polenta with Mushroom Ragout

Gnocci (you will understand the reason they're supposed to be delicious - but rarely are)

Pasta with Octopus (double yum)

[tan319]

L'Impero also picked up the Beard Best New Restaurant award this year.  How did you like Heather Carlucci's desserts?  Would you care to describe them?

I went looking on the website. The dessert menu looks really interesting.

Heather C. doesn't get namechecked, as far as I could tell. Which is kind of annoying. Scott get's credited in a review or two for dessert ideas.

Coughy: Could you describe the peach gratin? I noticed that a sabbiosa was part of the plate. I did a google search on sabbiosa and from what I gather it's a cookie-ish type of thing?

Steve? Have you had a sabbiosa?

As always, thanks!

[Bux]

sabbiosa

I guess it's a shortbread cookie. I actually cheated and looked the word up in an Italian dictionary. It means "sandy." Shortbread in French is "sable" which also means sand. I suspected an Italian sabbiosa was similar to a French sable.

[tan319]

sabbiosa

I guess it's a shortbread cookie. I actually cheated and looked the word up in an Italian dictionary. It means "sandy." Shortbread in French is "sable" which also means sand. I suspected an Italian sabbiosa was similar to a French sable.

Yep, that's the same thing I googled up, the 'sandy' description.

I was wondering if it was more of a cake-ish thing though. Like the 'sableuse' out of the Jean George cookbook. Although I guess that's more of a poundcake thing.

I'm serving a shortbreadish cookie with a berry gratin I'm doing at one of my place's.

[ellenesk]

Got a last minute table l'impero this evening, any suggestions?

[jogoode]

that addictive polenta with truffled mushrooms.

[ellenesk]

Quick note on another great dinner at L'impero this past Saturday.

We were a group of four. The polenta with wild mushroom still continutes to be one of the best appetizers around. My salad was fresh and lively( good greens with a truffled vinaigrette). 3 of us had the short ribs mezzaluna, although flavorful, I felt the pasta was a little touch. The fourth the pumpkin angilotti, which was delicious. Entrees uniformlyl good, the veal, cod and bronzino all received thumbs up. The chocolate soup is a great decadent end to dinner, as was the pumpkin toffee pudding. The cheeses on the cheese plate were in excellent condition, with great condiments. With the prix fix of 47, this is one of the best dining values in Manhattan. To drink, the prosecco and campari cocktail was so good, we just kept them coming in lieu of wine.

The only down note was a waiter who kept disappearing. The food came out of the kitchen in good order, but the drinks, menus, all took way too long.

Otherwise, we hope to return soon.

[bugsy]

geez, i think we paid $52 for the prix fixe, not 47...no matter it's a great bargain

at either....try the bergstrom pinot gris from OR on your next trip...WOW..

less than $50

[Pan]

A friend who may choose to identify himself and I had a lovely lunch at L'Impero today. It was the first time there for both of us. The restaurant is very relaxing and pleasant.

Here is a picture of the outside of the restaurant:

It is located on the ground floor of a residential building.

Inside, you can see this bar:

I also got a look inside the kitchen, which looked like there was a reasonable amount of space to move around, though I say that as someone who never worked in a kitchen.

Our reservation was for noon, and it was nice that the restaurant opened its doors and let customers wait inside for service to begin, especially as it was at that point raining hard outside (I took the picture of the exterior after our meal was finished).

The dining room feels spacious, partly because it is airy and partly because of several large mirrors. Here is how a side table looks, perfectly set and waiting for patrons:

You can see just a bit of the mirror.

But what of the food? It was delicious and thoroughly delightful! Some of it was unlike other Italian food I've had, and I don't know whether that reflects French influence or simply characterizes upscale restaurants in parts of northern Italy I haven't been to yet, such as Milan or Genoa. Some of it was quite recognizable as very good Italian food. But it was all very worthwhile. The amount of food may or may not look like that much for each course, but the meal was not a small one and was definitely satisfying.

To begin with, we were given some bread.

I got a multigrain bread (I forget the number of grains), which had a variety of seeds in it. It was nutty-tasting and just generally terrific.

My friend got the Italian bread, which was less interesting but good for sopping up sauces (which I admit I did a couple of times with a slice I got later).

I was intrigued by some dishes that weren't on the Restaurant Week menu and decided to spring for the $42 Summer Menu, plus a $4 supplement for my first course, which was Seared Diver Scallops with roasted sunchokes, fingerling potatoes and mustard greens:

The scallops were perfectly cooked and sufficiently tender. This was probably the best scallop dish I had had since my restaurant week meal at River Cafe a few years ago. The pieces of potatoes and sunchokes were the same size, and there were more potato pieces than sunchoke pieces. The sunchoke pieces had more of the consistency of a turnip and tasted something like a turnip and something like an onion, but not really like either. You can see that the mustard greens are delicate little leaves. I really can't do the dish justice in words, but it was a winner.

My friend got Fricassee of Seasonal Mushrooms in creamy polenta with truffle reduction, which was at least as good as the scallops but an entirely different dish. Which dish someone prefers is entirely a matter of preference for one type of dish over another. The mushroom/truffle taste of this appetizer was quite concentrated. Have a look:

My prix fixe had one more course than my friend's - a primo piatto. And what a primo piatto it was! Duck and Foie Gras Agnolotti with moscato passito di sardegna reduction:

And here's a closeup of the interior of an agnolotto:

This was really fabulous! A combination of duck, foie gras, and a muscat reduction - what could be bad? I'm glad I ordered it!

For his main course, my friend ordered Roasted Skate with sugar snaps, celery and caper oil. This was a great dish, and much more in a style I think of as Italian (similar to Tuscan, even) than my primo piatto:

The fish was excellently browned, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and served atop perfectly fresh celery and snowpea-like snap beans, with a subtle accent of caper oil.

I also ordered a fish dish, Poached Mediterranean Branzino with baby tomatoes, capers, olives and orange:

The fish was poached, so it wasn't browned. Perhaps even more than in the case of the skate, this was all about the fish, with the accompaniments providing separate enjoyment. The fish was very simply cooked and was simply a lovely fish, fattier than the skate. The accompaniment was also recognizably Italian to me, as each flavor stood out on its own. The orange sections were pleasantly sour and grapefruit-like. There were two types of baby tomatoes, sweet little orange ones and tiny little plum tomatoes. The capers were used judiciously and didn't become the primary flavor of the dish. The olives were sliced small and a pleasant surprise (I had forgotten all the specifics of the dish in between ordering the dish and receiving it). Atop the dish was a subtle herb that tasted to me like a relative of wood sorrel - another ingredient which spoke for itself and was very welcome in the dish.

For dessert, my dining partner ordered Orange-Mascarpone Sesame Cannoli with fresh fruit accompaniment (it's not on online menus, so I may be getting the exact name wrong):

Bravo to L'Impero for doing a creative and delicious variation on a classic! That dessert is well worth ordering.

I got a Rhubarb-Strawberry Crostata with Crystallized Ginger Ice Cream. At least, I think strawberries were the berry in the dessert. This dessert tasted very good, and also came with fresh mint (as did the other) and two pineapple chips:

The rhubarb was crunchy, unlike in other rhubarb desserts I've had, and I liked that texture, which gave it a more vegetable-like feel than usual. The ice cream was pleasant, though I suppose it could have used more ginger to my taste. But that's merely a half-hearted nitpick. Nevertheless, in appraising this dessert, I have my only substantive criticism of the meal: The crust of the crostata was excessively hard. That didn't affect the taste, but it did make it very difficult to cut, and caused me to have some concern that once I succeeded, I might end up flinging some of its contents across the room - which fortunately didn't happen. But I think that having one such criticism of a meal is pretty damn good. One doesn't have to get 100 to get an A.

I see that the New York Times awarded 3 stars to L'Impero, and I certainly agree. Their food is solidly 3-star and the ambiance is quite enjoyable; anything less than 3 stars would have been a serious injustice. When I arrived before service started, rock was playing, but while we ate, no music played, and the noise was caused only by animated conversation among groups of friends. At no time did we have any trouble hearing each other.

Our waiter provided us with recommendations for our courses outside of dessert, and both of us ordered dishes he had recommended, with good results. Service in general was friendly and gracious from all concerned.

I look forward to the next time.

Edited June 22, 2004 by Pan (log)

[JennyUptown]

Awesome post, Pan. Did someone get a new toy (e.g., a digital camera)?

L'Impero is a place I hope to visit during one of my next NYC visits.

[bloviatrix]

Awesome post, Pan. Did someone get a new toy (e.g., a digital camera)?

Ditto.

Interestingly enough, I was suggesting L'Impero to a friend about 15 minutes before I read this.

BTW, does anyone remember the name of the restaurant that previously occupied the location?

[robert40]

Really great post and pix pan.

I believe Scott Conant was one of Food and Wine magazine 10 best chef's this year.