FOOD, DRINK & NIGHTLIFE
Viva Italia!
West Village’s Via Carota
serves Italian fare with love
BY HEATHER CASSELL
Award-winning chefs and
restauranteurs Jody Williams
and Rita Sodi’s
love affair with food led to
a New York love story in the
West Village that has burned
bright for 14 years and birthed
a growing restaurant empire.
The couple’s fi rst culinary
venture, Via Carota, is one of
Manhattan’s most romantic
restaurants inside and outside
of the kitchen, and one of the
hardest to snag a reservation
— with good reason.
Via Carota, at 51 Grove
Street, was named one of New
York’s most romantic restaurants
by Travel and Leisure
magazine in 2017. It is hailed
for its rustic Italian and French
décor with a touch of Sonoma,
as well as for its menu and the
love story behind it.
Williams, an expert in Italian
and French cuisine coming
from San Francisco via Italy,
was searching for authentic
Italian food in New York when
she fell in love with Sodi in
2008, the same year the restaurant
opened. Williams was fi rst
led to the Tuscan-raised Chef
Sodi by a plate of fried artichoke
hearts, and then by each
dish that followed at I Sodi.
Two and a half years later,
the couple — already seasoned
in middle age when they met —
was living together. Williams
opened the French-styled Buvette
around the corner from I
Sodi in 2010. Four years later,
after helping each other individually
in each other’s respective
kitchens, they opened Via
Carota. Eight years later, the
restaurants are all going strong
and new sibling restaurants are
opening within blocks of each
other: Bar Pisellino (2020) and
their latest, The Commerce Inn
(2022) — a departure from
Europe to America, all located
in the West Village.
It is clearly a match made in
the kitchen. The women and
their styles are opposites, Sodi
has many rules, and Williams is
free-spirited and random with
her culinary creations, but they
admire and respect each other,
which makes their partnership
at home and the restaurants
work. That makes the restaurants
not only beloved in Manhattan,
but consistently rated
as the best in the city.
The rustic interior, with antiques
tucked in nearly every
crevice, makes you feel like you
are being invited into an Italian
family’s home. It should feel old,
warm, and inviting. The decor
Chefs and restaurateurs Jody Williams (foreground) and Rita Sodi.
was inspired by the 13th century
home Sodi grew up in. The restaurant
is fi lled with pieces from
her childhood home and antiques
Williams randomly collects in antique
shops and fl ea markets. The
warmth of Sodi’s Italian home
and the women’s energy is felt in
every corner of the restaurant.
Just like the food, the service
is warm, friendly, and simple, not
too hands-on, but all your needs
are instantly met.
As for the food, the simplest
ingredients are stripped naked,
transformed, and presented to
diners on the plate with humble
perfection. There is no fanfare,
but each dish is packed with fl avor
and pairs well with the selection
of Italian wines hailing from
nearly every region of Italy.
The pasta dishes were handrolled,
cut, and cooked to perfection,
then dressed up in butter,
olive oil, cheese. They were fi nished
with either pepper or Prosciutto
and parmesan and served
PHOTO COURTESY VIA CAROTA
in perfect swirling pillowy clouds.
The dishes’ simplicity hides the
sophistication of the artistry and
execution of crafting the pasta
and balancing the ingredients to
deliver the nuanced fl avors of the
creamy melted nutty cheese, butter,
and pepper that covered the
soft strands of pasta in my Tonnarelli
cacio e pepe.
Via Carota is the essence of
what love is: good food, good
company, and a warm and beautiful
atmosphere.
El Quijote, a longtime Chelsea
favorite, reopens after four years
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
An iconic Chelsea restaurant
has reopened after
four years.
El Quijote opened its W.
23rd St. doors on Feb. 9 to
anticipatory neighbors eager
to eat at the Old Charm
neighborhood restaurant. The
88-year old eatery has been
closed since 2018.
A few foodies hovered near
the door; they were the fi rst to
enter.
Chelsea neighbor Jane Schreibman
stopped by to see
how things were going. “We
lived across the bridge in New
Jersey and would come here
for special occasions— always
ordering lobster— when I was
growing up,” she said. “It’s
so nice for this restaurant to
back. I have so many memories
over the years.”
Deciding she’d stop in for
something light, Schreibman
ordered a salad. “The apple
and fennel salad was really
delicious,” she commented,
predicting that she’d return
another time for dinner, possibly
for the signature paella
dish.
The feel of the restaurant is
similar to years past—the décor
remaining the same, the
long brown wall mural of Don
Quijote’s wanderings, frosted
glass panels, the red booths.
The restaurant has downsized
from 220 to 65 furthering
its feel of intimacy. Its menu
is mainly from the north of
Spain. It is now being run by
Sunday Hospitality and partner
Charles Seich.
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
The entrance to the 88-year-old restaurant, closed for four
years, reopened on Feb. 9.
Schneps Media February 17, 2022 21