Il Buco: Delicious Italian Classics | New York City
Close to two decades of superb Italian food
Go. Eat. Quick!
Now is the perfect time to visit the Noho Italian institution Il Buco while its blazing-hot little sister, Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, reels from the breathless media adulation (yes, we're guilty too.)
The simplest approach to dining at Il Buco is to command a stool at the copper bar. The wooden stools are worn and comfortable, and the bar staff is equally adept at mixing, pouring and serving.
Though the napkins are linen, there is an ease to the food at Il Buco. This is local, seasonal cooking, which has been whispering rather than shouting its quality for nearly two decades.
So the signature cast-iron-fired king prawns ($19) are shockingly plump, sweet and redolent with the aroma of rosemary branches. Or try the mother-of-all kale salads, the cavolonero ($15), which had us hooked on garlic-anchovy-lemon vinaigrette and filone croutons long before raw kale graced every table in town.
Pastas, such as the fleeting egg ribbons with ramps ($22), are reliably fantastic, and the grilled pork neck ($29) was so ruddy and rich that our companion had to be convinced it wasn't beef.
Even with a handsome new baby in the family, the original Il Buco is getting all the attention it warrants.
Il Buco, 47 Bond St. (between the Bowery and Lafayette St.); 212-533-1932 or ilbuco.com