Lupa

I had a great meal at Lupa a couple days ago. While the portions were definitely smaller than the normal menu, as one might expect during RW, each dish was well prepared and gave a good sense of what the restaurant is all about (the main purpose of RW in my opinion). We supplemented the RW prix fixe with a couple appetizers from the normal menu -- the sardines with pine nuts and raisins were...+READ I had a great meal at Lupa a couple days ago. While the portions were definitely smaller than the normal menu, as one might expect during RW, each dish was well prepared and gave a good sense of what the restaurant is all about (the main purpose of RW in my opinion). We supplemented the RW prix fixe with a couple appetizers from the normal menu -- the sardines with pine nuts and raisins were particularly good -- in addition to some wine, and left feeling fully satisfied. There are some great options for RW in Manhattan, and Lupa is among the best.

http://foodmattersblog.wordpress.com/-COLLAPSE / REPLY (4 Replies) (by aluzmore, created January 24, 2012)

Aside from what I said below, there are good appetizers. Just going by memory, without checking what's currently on their menu, I've liked their brussels sprouts, funghi trifolati, salads, and various salumi, for example. I'd get 2-3 appetizers per person and share.

Their best dessert is the tartufo. It's great, and unless you're really hungry, good to share between 2 (or possibly more)...+READ Aside from what I said below, there are good appetizers. Just going by memory, without checking what's currently on their menu, I've liked their brussels sprouts, funghi trifolati, salads, and various salumi, for example. I'd get 2-3 appetizers per person and share.

Their best dessert is the tartufo. It's great, and unless you're really hungry, good to share between 2 (or possibly more) people. I wouldn't get anything else there for dessert if I were ordering only one, but their panna cotta is always a good 2nd dessert.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (7 Replies) (by Pan, created January 19, 2012)

Their roast chicken is wonderful...doesn't sound exciting...but it truly is a great dish!! Also their amatraciana (sp?) is great too!! REPLY (7 Replies) (by sockster, created January 18, 2012)

»Restaurant Week Lunch at Lupa

Had a nice RW lunch at Lupa today. Neither of us had been before, and I don't ever remember seeing it on the RW list before, so we figured why not?

For our first course, Ryan had the insalata di zucca, a salad of shaved fresh summer squash with pecorino, arugula and almonds. I had the panzanella, a chunky mix of tuscan-style bread and fresh tomatoes with cucumber and anchovy.

Ryan’s dish...+READ Had a nice RW lunch at Lupa today. Neither of us had been before, and I don't ever remember seeing it on the RW list before, so we figured why not?

For our first course, Ryan had the insalata di zucca, a salad of shaved fresh summer squash with pecorino, arugula and almonds. I had the panzanella, a chunky mix of tuscan-style bread and fresh tomatoes with cucumber and anchovy.

Ryan’s dish ended up being his favorite course of the meal, and I certainly enjoyed mine too. Both salads offered fresh ingredients with minimal preparation to hinder them. The piquant flavor of the anchovy played well with the tomatoes and the crusty bread, with the peppery bite of the arugula in Ryan’s dish augmented the crisp zucchini and yellow squash.

For mains, Ryan had the arista tonnato, a slow-cooked pork loin with a cured tuna sauce. The pork was cooked perfectly, and like our previous salads, prepared in such a way that the ingredients stood out.

My fluke with fagioli alla Romana was equally savory. It was served with fresh corn (a current food obsession of mine!) and snap beans, both of the white and green variety.

We both all but licked our plates clean.

Also, Lupa offered a $12 wine pairing along with their prix fixe lunch. My first pairing was a refreshing, not overly sweet rosato from Bastianich’s own vineyard, while my second glass was a mild Italian red. Both nice wines and generous pours for the money.

Finally: the sweets.

I took a lighter route and elected for ricotta with honey, while Ryan tried the tartufuni, a scoop of ice cream coated in chocolate and hazelnuts, complete with an amarena cherry center. Think Nutella, but even richer.

Solid food, solid service.

Photos and full write-up at http://smithratliff.com/2011/07/13/restaurant-week-at-lupa/-COLLAPSE / REPLY (by loratliff, created July 13, 2011)

I am not a Babbo fan but absolutely do like Lupa. (by roxie, created November 29, 2010)

»Lovely dinner at Lupa

Took my husband there for a birthday dinner, and was very impressed with quality and value. We had a 5 PM reservation and were seated immediately in the mostly empty front room, which filled up quickly (which meant, unfortunately, that we soon had other patrons seated about 10 inches away from us.) Service was excellent, however, and so was the food.

We started with a "carrafino" of a nice...+READ Took my husband there for a birthday dinner, and was very impressed with quality and value. We had a 5 PM reservation and were seated immediately in the mostly empty front room, which filled up quickly (which meant, unfortunately, that we soon had other patrons seated about 10 inches away from us.) Service was excellent, however, and so was the food.

We started with a "carrafino" of a nice well-priced white from the Bastianich label (1.5 glasses for $12) and my DH's usual non-alcoholic beer, then ordered the asparagus with pecorino ($6), the "frutti di mare" platter ($30), and a house-made pasta special. All were fantastic, especially the platter - a selection of all 6 seafood antipasti in generous portions, served on a sectioned platter that was about a foot wide. The waitress had described it as a good size for two, but as an appetizer it would be enough for 4-5 people, and could easily have satisfied the two of us as an entree. Our favorites were the sardines with pinenuts, raisins, and bread and the spicy marinated cubes of tuna, but everything was wonderful and perfectly cooked (including some very tender octopus.)

We were so stuffed we barely touched the asparagus (which was blanched, thinly sliced and served with a light dressing and plenty of crumbled pecorino), but with a short break were able to enjoy the pasta course - the waitress had offered to split the order between the two of us, so for $22 we each had five perfect little envelopes of fresh pasta filled with a fantastic spinach puree and served in a light butter sauce with tiny crumbles of fried prosciutto. (We had expected prosciutto in the filling, but didn't taste any.)

We ended with two excellent espressos and a promise to come back - overall, a terrific meal, for a very fair price!-COLLAPSE (by rovingfoodie, created April 25, 2010)