Becco

[Jason Perlow]

On Fat Guy's reccomendation I ate with some friends this evening at Becco (46th between 8th and 9th 212-397-7597). I'd say this is probably one of the best pre-theatre dinner values I've ever had. Becco is owned by Joe Bastianich, who is also partners with Mario Battali in Babbo and Lupa.

Three of us had the Prix fixe all-you-can eat pasta dinner, $21.95, which included antipasto appetizer or ceasar salad.

Every evening Becco prepares a trio of fresh pasta dishes, which is different every night, and is all you can eat. This evening was a fettucine with pepperoncini marinara sauce, seafood canneloni and a penne aolio/buttera garlic saute with broccoli florets -- all of these were superb and cooked perfectly al dente. All of us walked out stuffed. One diner had a whole grilled mediterranean sea bass (ฮ) which was elegantly filetted, and was devoured completely.

The wine list is quite extensive, with about 40 different wines to choose from, all $18.00. We ordered a prosecco, 10.5 percent alcohol, very clean and sparkly with the perfect amount of sweetness.

For appetizers 2 of us ordered salads, the others antipasto, and we shared everything. The ceasar salad was a fairly simple preparation, although I would say it was not as dressed as I would like. The mixed antipasto was an assortment of beans, eggplant, carrots, squashes, fresh mozzarella and grilled red pepperoncini dressed with extra virgin olive oil, plus two side plates of a salmon tartare, swordfish "medallion" with potatoes and marinated octopus, plus a dish of fresh ricotta cheese -- a perfect accompaniment to the fresh bread.

We passed on dessert, but I had an espresso, which was perfectly prepared with a good crema, strong, and was not at all bitter.

All in all a superb value for the pre theatre crowd, with attentive and warm service.

[tommy]

until what time does this deal go?

[Jason Perlow]

Until the end of time, I think. Its printed into their dinner menu.

[Fat Guy]

Yes, Becco has been doing this deal for years, with maybe a one dollar increase sometime in the late 1990s. I don't believe there are any plans to change. It's available lunch and dinner, all times.

For those who get suspicious when they hear "all you can eat," please don't think steam tables at the early bird special in Miami. The pastas are made fresh all night and served tableside hot out of skillets. You get a small portion of each of the three, and then you can request (or more likely will be offered) additional portions of any or all. They're also quite accommodating if, for example, you want an ingredient left out. They'll just make up a small portion the way you want it.

For an Italian restaurant, the desserts are noteworthy, especially the ricotta cheesecake. I suggest going with the dessert sampler platter.

Becco is not one of the best restaurants in New York, but it provides one of the best meals you can get at that price point in that neighborhood (and most other neighborhoods too).

[Rosie]

Lowell and I had dinner at Becco, 46th St, NYC last night. Lidia Bastianich and her son Joseph have created a charming restaurant that transports you to a country house in Italy. Our host asked executive chef Billy Gallagher to serve us a tasting menu with wines; everything we ate was delightful and delicious. Four hours after our arrival we rolled out of the restaurant.

Becco is always crowded because they are near the theatres and offer a prix fixe menu which includes an antipasto or Caesar salad and unlimited servings of three daily pastas for $21.95. The pasta choices change daily and are based on seasonally fresh ingredients. They also have an extensive wine list where each bottle is $18, a real bargain. Be sure to make a reservation and expect crowded tables and noise.

When seated addictive breadsticks, focaccia and Italian bread with a creamy bean dip were brought to the table. We started out with a hot antipasto containing baked stuffed clams, stuffed mushroom caps, eggplant rollatini and crispy baked shrimp. Then we had a cold antipasto with riccota cheese drizzled with honey, salmon tartare, potato salad, bean salad, grilled vegetables, fresh artichoke hearts, and a marinated fish.

Our next course was pasta: rigatoni in a tomato basil sauce; risotto with rock shrimp; and a peppery linguini with string beans and mushrooms were wonderful. I especially liked the peppery flavors in the linguini. From here we moved onto our main course which was a grilled double cut loin pork chop with a stew of sweet peppers and grilled shrimp over arugula.

A plate was brought to our table containing slices of different desserts. I thought this was a dessert plate for us to choose our dessert from. It turned out to be a sampler! We had warm apple tart; chocolate zabaglione cake, panna cotta to die for; home made ice cream; and a bread pudding. I was too full for coffee but Lowell said his espresso was delicious.

I learned that the name Becco comes from the Italian word beccare, which means to peck, nibble or even to savor something in a discriminating way. We did all of that and more!

[Jason Perlow]

Becco is probably one of the best dining values in the entire city. I recommend it highly.

[Pan]

Wow, such high praise for Becco! I went there for a bachelor party last summer and was underwhelmed (and that was the _general opinion_ of the party). Based on that meal, at any rate, I think that there are several places in the East Village that are better and cheaper. I'll go beyond that: I thought my meal at Il Cortile in Little Italy was a good deal better, though somewhat more expensive.

[Stone]

I used to go to Becco a lot, but I thought its pasta selection had gone downhill.  (By the way, most people skip the entrees -- don't.  They're terrific.)  Becco once had a papardelle with wild mushrooms and a pumpkin ravioli (along with the obligatory penne or spaghetti w/ marinara) that were exquisite.  Last few time I was there, it's been a seafood risotto.   My take on risotto at restaurants -- unless it's a specialty, pass.  Usually the restaurant doesn't take the time to make it right, and you get a mealy, oily mess.  Becco's wasn't that bad, but no up to its usual standards.

[Fat Guy]

We used Becco for a family dinner recently -- a bunch of cousins not wanting to spend a ton of money -- and it continues to impress me. At this price point, and especially given the location, I just don't see how anyone could expect a better meal.

A couple of references for Becco-watchers:

eGullet Q&A with Lidia Bastianich

The Becco page on Lidia's Web site (includes menu and wines)

The actual Becco Web site

And by the way, "The name Becco is derived from the Italian verb, beccare, which means to peck, nibble or savor something in a discriminating way." (from LidiasItaly.com)

[thereuare]

I tried Becco when we considered it for our rehersal dinner, and like Pan, i too was unimpressed.

I recall one of the pastas being sticky (as in the noodle, linguini if i recall, was clumped together in bunches) and the pasta dish with clams was very sandy (i would question if the clams were rinsed at all).

I know this place sounds like a great deal on the surface, but the 2 'all you can eat pastas' and a bottle of wine still ended up costing us about $85 or so, and i felt i've had better meals for nearly $100/couple.

[tommy]

I know this place sounds like a great deal on the surface, but the 2 'all you can eat pastas' and a bottle of wine still ended up costing us about $85 or so, and i felt i've had better meals for nearly $100/couple.

thereuare, if the fixed price dinner is 22 bucks, and they have a bunch of wines at 18 bucks, i really can't see much more of a bargain in manhattan. that's pretty incredible.

[kpurvis]

I went with a friend in May and we had a delightful meal. I did skip the pastas, though, and went with a roasted chicken dish that was excellent. We were very pleased. The service was good even though the place was packed and we were walk-ins who got lucky when somebody else didn't meet their reservation time.

My companion got the pasta dinner and we shared bites. I did find that most of the pastas we tried were disappointing -- tough, and the sauces didn't shine, although the risotto that night, wild nettle, was very good. Maybe trying to turn out too many house-made pastas in that quantity is the problem? My companion, by the way, is Italian-American, and that was also his opinion on the pastas.

We also had the dessert tasting tray -- two were disappointing, but two were very good and one, a panne cotta, was stellar.

[Fat Guy]

Has anybody been to either of the Becco clones (aka "Lidia's Italy"), in Pittsburgh and Kansas City?

[sammy]

I've been to the KC location a few times and have been pleased. Menu is similar to the Becco model but I believe it offers more dishes other than the all you can eat pasta deal. I can't remember if the pasta deal was offered at dinner in addition to lunch. I also remember the salad served with the pasta at lunch to be superior in KC but the bread was severely lacking.

Many wines offered at very reasonable prices including an entire list with no wine coster more than $18.

Also, I believe the space in KC is far superior to the NY location. They renovated an old building near the train station in the center of town and it is quite nice, especially in the evening.

The only thing I didn't like is the service staff was big on "Hi my name is ___ and I'll be your server today."

[Fat Guy]

I'd like to check it out sometime. Thanks for the report.

Online, I've been able to determine that KC offers the pasta deal at dinner for $25; the higher price reflects the inclusion of dessert.

http://www.lidiasitaly.com/restaurants/kan...as_kc_menu.html

[rstarobi]

I went with a friend in May and we had a delightful meal. I did skip the pastas, though, and went with a roasted chicken dish that was excellent. We were very pleased. The service was good even though the place was packed and we were walk-ins who got lucky when somebody else didn't meet their reservation time.

My companion got the pasta dinner and we shared bites. I did find that most of the pastas we tried were disappointing -- tough, and the sauces didn't shine, although the risotto that night, wild nettle, was very good. Maybe trying to turn out too many house-made pastas in that quantity is the problem? My companion, by the way, is Italian-American, and that was also his opinion on the pastas.

We also had the dessert tasting tray -- two were disappointing, but two were very good and one, a panne cotta, was stellar.

You think the pastas were tough? To my taste buds they were some of the most perfectly Al Dente pastas I've ever had. I thought they were a little over salted, but my taste buds react strongly to salt, so that's more a matter of personal taste.

[Fat Guy]

There's batch variation. Having dined there probably a couple of dozen times over the past 10 years I've seen it at the extremes. But during the large majority of my visits I've experienced the restaurant at its best, and the food has fallen within a narrow band of quality (service too). I find the level of consistency over time to be much better than one would normally expect at a non-chain establishment in this price range, or even at twice the price, though of course Jean Georges and Le Bernardin are more consistent.

[albie]

Agree here with all fans of Becco. It's image as an ``all you can eat" place may diminish its appeal to the snobbish and trend-worshipping elements of the NYC dining crowd, but stands to reason that consistency of quality if a place concentrates on making -- and making well-- three staple pastas which probably 85 percent of the diners will order-- making them in large quantities and sending them off to the dining room when they're as close to peak as the chef's skill will allow.

While on the subject of excellent, if not exactly ``trendy" Italian retaurants that deserve more acclaim than they're generally given, here are three that come to mind:

La Locanda dei Vini (Ninth Avenue at 50th Street): a largely unheralded neighborhood place with a fabulous wine list and some of the most authentic regional Italian comfort food in town, including the best rabbit in the city.

San Pietro (54th Street between Madison and Fifth): Horrendously expensive but southern Italian dishes taken to extreme expression; fanatically loyal client base comprised of many of the city's richest and most powerful; all but off the radar screen of the Bastianich/Batali loyalist; as good as Felidia but with better service.

I Trulli (East 27th between Lexington and Third); family-run establishment of highest quality; mama's homemade pastas and open-hearth cooking are specialities here.

[arlene]

I've eaten at Becco on more than one occassion and while the food is well prepared and copious, the place is run like a tourist trap with waiters that have been rehearsed in how to extract the most dollars from the table especially if the diners order the pasta pris=fixe and the ambience on a Saturday night is like feeding time at the zoo.

[tommy]

I've eaten at Becco on more than one occassion and while the food is well prepared and copious, the place is run like a tourist trap with waiters that have been rehearsed in how to extract the most dollars from the table especially if the diners order the pasta pris=fixe and the ambience on a Saturday night is like feeding time at the zoo.

how do the servers try to get more money out of the customer? through those wine prices (which seem very reasonable as i recall)?

[arlene]

I've eaten at Becco on more than one occassion and while the food is well prepared and copious, the place is run like a tourist trap with waiters that have been rehearsed in how to extract the most dollars from the table especially if the diners order the pasta pris=fixe and the ambience on a Saturday night is like feeding time at the zoo.

how do the servers try to get more money out of the customer? through those wine prices (which seem very reasonable as i recall)?

Excessively pushing bottled water, pouring wine as fast as you can take a sip from your glass, gushing over the special extra appetizers, begging you to order dessert- hows that?

[rstarobi]

I've eaten at Becco on more than one occassion and while the food is well prepared and copious, the place is run like a tourist trap with waiters that have been rehearsed in how to extract the most dollars from the table especially if the diners order the pasta pris=fixe and the ambience on a Saturday night is like feeding time at the zoo.

how do the servers try to get more money out of the customer? through those wine prices (which seem very reasonable as i recall)?

Excessively pushing bottled water, pouring wine as fast as you can take a sip from your glass, gushing over the special extra appetizers, begging you to order dessert- hows that?

What kind of group were you with when the servers did this? The two times I've gone, I've had desert pushed, and the usual "mineral or tap" question asked, but nothing that seemed excessive.

Once I was alone, the second time with a group of five.

[Dignan]

Any opinions on whether Becco would be a good place for a single diner to have lunch or dinner? Is there a bar area where one may eat?

[Liz Johnson]

There's a bar, but you can't eat at it. It's too small, and I don't think there are even chairs at it.

[Jason Perlow]

Ate at Becco with eG Rum forum host and caribbean pirate Ed Hamilton last night, after an evening of drinking too much French Rum Agricole. At 10PM, Becco was like a beacon of hope after walking from the nearby Crowne Plaza at 48th street in my inebriated stupor and in the steamy weather following a huge rainstorm -- and the food got me woken up, real fast.

Needing to get all that alcohol absorbed we went for the pasta deal -- this evening they had Sphagetti a la Guitarra, Orichhete with Broccoli Rapa and Sausage, and Spinach and Cheese Ravioli in a Beurre Blanc sauce.

All the pastas were freshly made and very good, especially the Spinach ravioli which had a stong Parmigiano flavor to it, although it was a bit rich -- but this didnt stop me from asking for a second portion of it.

We had a nice $20 2001 Primitivo to go with the pasta, which went great with the Sphaghetti dish and worked well to scrape that heavy butter sauce off the palate from the ravioli.

Service was great, as usual.