Eats
Tavolino warms up 9th Ave. with taste of Italia
BY ALEX MITCHELL
It doesn’t take long to heat up from
winter’s cold after walking into Tavolino,
a quaint and brand new Italian
tavern in Midtown.
It’s the newest kitchen for chef Nick
Accardi to craft his crostini, gnocchi,
and grandma style pies in addition to
a menu that offers a plethora of variety
and gluten free options made on
demand.
Accardi recommends you start the
meal with some of that crostini and
even a bowl of pasta fagioli for those
really bitter winter nights.
The artichoke crostini is fi lled with
rich fl avor that’s accentuated by Accardi’s
drizzle of oil and mint along
with many others fl avors—dipping into
the the soup is strongly encouraged.
That pasta e fagioli immediately
sends a warm and cozy array through
your body after the fi rst spoonful,
bringing plenty of zesty taste while remaining
on the lighter side, it is after all
just the start of a strong meal.
Next comes the gnocchi, which is
garnished in an eggplant pesto that
you’ll simply want more and more of.
The chef explained that his Sicilian
style recipe for the gnocchi replaces the
traditional pine nut ingredient with almonds,
which help to give the potato
pasta its cloud like nature.
Tavolino’s main entrance at 496 9th Avenue.
It’s the pesto’s naturally sweet
taste from Accardi’s array of Italian
herbs, fl avors, and even a hint of
anchovies which bring out the gnocchi’s
fl avor without feeling a dense
aftermath that comes from eating a
traditionally heavy pasta.
Asking for some extra bread is always
encouraged to clean all of the
PHOTO BY ALEX MITCHELL
pesto from the plate as a whole.
Now, it’s pizza time. This is where
things become interesting.
Accardi whipped up a red and white
pie with fl avors that manage to perfectly
compliment one another when eaten
together.
The prosciutto is soft and the cheese
is plenty gooey to give that half-pie a
grandma-margehrita taste with an xfactor
of fl avor that can’t be described,
but only tasted.
Meanwhile, the boscaiola has a much
lighter fl avor that’s tasted greatly in the
portobello and porcini mushrooms
along with the pie’s plentiful traces of
truffl e oil that balances out its heavier,
red counterpart.
Of course, no matter how full or
wary you’ve become, there’s always
dessert.
What a way to cap the meal. The
caramel’s salty-sweet stickiness blends
into the softer cheesecake and homemade
graham base to a near perfection.
Although it often goes without saying,
the back of the cheesecake slice is the
best.
While Accardi only opened Tavolino
some days ago, he’s already seen some
great success and lines out the door, he
says. With the attention to detail given
to the meals served there, it’s no wonder.
He’s also owner of neighboring
Tavola, which translated to table from
Italian—it’s only natural that Tavolino
means “little table” in Italiano.
Regardless of which of the two you
prefer, be sure to make a reservation
as all of these tables come in high demand.
Tavolino, 488 Ninth Ave., New York,
NY. 212-273-1181
Red Gate Bakery enjoys a sweet grand opening
BY GABE HERMAN
A new bakery opened on Dec.
19 in the East Village that offers
quality desserts in a modest
space.
Red Gate Bakery is at 68 E. 1st St.,
between First and Second Avenues,
and comes from Greg Rales, who was
formerly at Flour Shop on Lafayette
Street. Rales named the shop after a
Nantucket farm where he spent summers
in his childhood.
The business started as a wholesale
operation based in Rales’ home. Business
increased and outgrew his kitchen,
leading Rales to open the brick and
mortar with Director of Operations
Patricia Howard, who was previously
at The Beatrice Inn, a restaurant in the
West Village.
Baking is done in the back of the
shop, and offerings include cookies,
cakes, bars and loaves. Cookies include
burnt chocolate, choco-toffee, spiced
+ iced oatmeal, white chocolate grapefruit
and cannibal cookies, which are
caramelized sugar cookies packed with
Director of Operations Patricia Howard and Founder Greg Rales.
house-made oreos.
There are also salted caramel brownies,
brown butter blondies, and the very
tasty midnight banana bread with dark
chocolate. “Celebration cakes” include
Yellow Birthday Cake With Chocolate
Sour Cream Frosting, and Vanilla Bean
Strawberry Dream.
The inside of the modest shop has a
relaxed feel and minimalist design, and
PHOTO BY RACHEL VANNI
customers can view into the back of the
space to see Rales and his team baking
away. The shop has altered hours during
the holidays, and more information
can be found at redgatebakery.com.
16 December 26, 2019 Schneps Media
/redgatebakery.com
