Pace

[oakapple]

The New York Daily News beats the field with the first rated review of Pace (Hudson & North Moore Streets, in TriBeCa). Joe Dziemianowicz awards 2 1/2 stars:

Pace is the latest labor of owner Danny Abrams and chef-owner Jimmy Bradley, the brains and bucks behind the Red Cat, the Harrison and Mermaid Inn.

Design-wise, their bambino has been aged prematurely. Mirrors are acid-etched and distressed in sort of a backward Botox regimen. Murals feature faded renderings of ancient Rome. An eye-catching wrought-iron chandelier radiates warmth.

But what really shines is the moderately priced food - simple and satisfying - thanks to Bradley and executive chef Joey Campanaro, an alum of the Harrison.

From my recollection of that space (it used to be Plumeri), it has a large footprint. They'll have to sell a lot of dinners to make their monthly nut.

[oakapple]

Steve Cuozzo likewise awards 2 1/2 stars to Pace in today's New York Post:

It must be fun working at the neighborhood's best casual Italian place since TriBeCans first walked upright.

Pace is the brainchild of Red Cat and Harrison boys Jimmy Bradley and Danny Abrams. The name ("pah-chay") means peace, but it does not mean quiet, thanks to lots of hard edges trying to look old.

Faux-distressed Roman murals and aged-looking mirrors borrow from the Pastis playbook. White tablecloths and a chandelier of colorful glass globes lend a patina of elegance; a gleaming wood floor cues you that it was all cobbled together overnight.

But things are for real where it matters: on the plate. Pace modestly describes its sprawling menu as "simple Italian." Of course, "simple" does not mean easy. Although the lineup includes the crudo a place needs to be trendy, the kitchen mostly aspires to the herbally attuned, regional-rustic virtuosity of more expensive 'Cesca, L'Impero and Fiamma.

[Pan]

What a cute headline for the Post, too:

"CIAO HOUNDS' DELIGHT"

Sounds like a worthwhile place to check out. Thanks, Oakapple.

[SobaAddict70]

The salumi, or cured meats, including bresaola, mortadella and prosciutto, hit their soft, salty, gently spicy marks, and a generous sampler, perfect for two or even three people, is $15. For now Pace imports some of its salumi from Italy and gets some locally, but Mr. Bradley said he planned to start curing more and more of it at the restaurant.

Wrapping veal sweetbreads in prosciutto for a newfangled saltimbocca is a questionable idea. It was also questionably executed: what arrived on our table was excessively chewy. Chicken cutlets had been recklessly breaded. A side dish of Gorgonzola polenta was as sludgy as wet cement.

Pace (Frank Bruni)

Jimmy Bradley and Danny Abrams, co-owners of The Red Cat, The Harrison and The Mermaid Inn, now offer a fourth restaurant offers a new spin on Italian restaurants deep in the heart of Tribeca.

Soba

[Mister_Cutlets]

You know, as far as I can tell, there's only one NY mainstream restaurant critic who is an active Egullet member. Me! So how come I'm never included in these review roundups?

Here's a quote from my Newsday review:

For main courses we went for the most substantial on the menu. I knew by now that Pace was expert in light and delicate dishes. But how would they do with braciole di cinghiale (stuffed, rolled wild boar) and agnolotti piedmontese (big pasta envelopes stuffed with pork and veal)? As it turned out, beautifully. The agnolotti were rich but mild, with an unassertive, meaty fullness that was perfectly complemented by the dressing of butter, sage, lemon, and a little parmesan. I thought the edges of the agnolotti might have been a little too al dente – I had been looking forward to them more or less disintegrating, and they required a little chewing around the edges. But the rolled boar was a home run. Tender and faintly gamy, it comes stuffed with salami, chopped eggs, black olives, and little studs of garlic, and served on a bed of creamy polenta. But it’s the boar itself that is so striking: a loin pounded flat, rolled around the soft stuffing, and slow-cooked until nearly falling apart. It was a perfect winter dish, and a million miles aesthetically from the light-as-air sashimi that began the meal.

Josh

[jogoode]

You know, as far as I can tell, there's only one NY mainstream restaurant critic who is an active Egullet member.  Me!  So how come I'm never included in these review roundups?

←

I had no idea! I just looked briefly on Newsday's Web site but couldn't find any reviews. Thanks for letting us know, Josh. Now I can seek them out.

[Mister_Cutlets]

You know, as far as I can tell, there's only one NY mainstream restaurant critic who is an active Egullet member.  Me!  So how come I'm never included in these review roundups?

←

I had no idea! I just looked briefly on Newsday's Web site but couldn't find any reviews. Thanks for letting us know, Josh. Now I can seek them out.

←

Just search for "ozersky" in the search box. They'll come up. They

run every other friday, in the "Eats" column. I'm also the restaurant

critic for the New York Law Journal, but I can forgive you not seeing

that!

Josh

[jogoode]

Just search for "ozersky" in the search box.  They'll come up.  They

run every other friday, in the "Eats" column.  I'm also the restaurant

critic for the New York Law Journal, but I can forgive you not seeing

that! 

Josh

←

So that's why I didn't find you: I was searching for "Mister Cutlets."