NYC Italian Food News: Barbuto’s Anniversary, Orange Wine, and More

Barbuto’s at 20

Jonathan Waxman is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his landmark Italian restaurant Barbuto all year with collaborative dinners with his many chef friends. Last month, Marcus Samuelsson cooked alongside Waxman at Barbuto for one night only (disclosure: the two are co-hosts of Seat at the Table, a podcast series that I co-created with the chefs). Next up is a trip up from Philly for Marc Vetri, the chef and restaurateur behind some of the most respected Italian restaurants in the country, including Vetri Cucina and Pizzeria Salvy. Vetri will join Waxman in the kitchen at Barbuto on Monday, April 15, cooking up a four-course, family-style menu for $150 per person (food only) dinner, with reservations now live on Resy. The chefs will join forces and prepare a mix of collaborative dishes as well as highlights from Vetri’s and Waxman’s repertoires. This will be the second of at least six anniversary dinners to be held at Barbuto this year. 

Orange Glou x Allora Pasta Co. 

The shop that bills itself as the world’s first and only wine store devoted exclusively to orange wine, Orange Glou on the Lower East Side (at 264 Broome St.), will host a pop-up dinner with Allora Pasta Co. chef Cameo Fucci on Thursday, March 21. The four-course tasting dinner will feature pairings with the natural skin-contact wines—made with white grapes but in the style of red wine, which results in an orange hue and easy-drinking, food-friendly wines—with Orange Glou founder Doreen Winkler on hand to speak about each of the featured wines. Tickets for the tasting are $55 and available via Allora Pasta Co.’s website, with two starting time options, at 6 or 8:30 pm. . The menu with pairings listed is: 

Radish with Whipped Yogurt with sumac, saffron oil, basil 

Cantina Indigeno, “Bisint”, Abruzzo, Italy 2022 (Montonico)

Spring Cavatelli  with lemon, peas and parmigiano  

Stefanago Pinot Grigio Macerato, Lombardy, Italy 2021 (Pinot Grigio)

Basil Ricotta Lasagna layered hand cut pasta with Calabrian tomato sauce

Cantina Margo, Umbria, Italy 2022 (Trebbiano)

Cheese with honey, berries and balsamic glaze 

Orsi Frizzante “Sui Lieviti M/M”, Emilia Romagna, Italy NV (Pignoletto/Malvasia)

Mama’s Too Buzz

The second location of Mama’s Too opened at 325 Bleecker St. in the West Village a few weeks back, bringing long lines of pizza hounds. The highly-rated slice joint originally launched on the Upper West Side but has now expanded into one of NYC’s most exciting pizza neighborhoods, where L’Industrie opened its second location late last year. At the new Mama’s Too, the menu includes not only the extremely popular slices and pies (available in round or square format), as well as special sandwiches on the weekends, plus focaccia, gelato, and more. As David Byrne says in Stop Making Sense: “Everybody, get in line!”

Rocco DiSpirito’s Everyday Delicious Book Tour

Rocco DiSpirito announced the first leg of his tour in support of his new cookbook, Everyday Delicious, available for pre-order now. The tour features two New York City appearances: on the publication’s release date, April 30, at Williams-Sonoma Columbus Circle and on May 15 as part of a De Gustibus Cooking School class. Check the chef’s Instagram for dates and more information.

Rocco also served as the first guest on the Appetito Podcast with EIC Andrew Cotto. You can watch/listen below: