Spend Sunday Evening With Café Altro Paradiso's Ignacio Mattos
Café Altro Paradiso's Ignacio Mattos and Thomas Carter are churning out the hottest food and drinks in town
This past Sunday evening, Tasting Table hosted an exclusive event at one of Downtown's hottest dining destinations, Café Altro Paradiso. To kick things off, guests took a new BMW for a spin on the open streets of western Soho.
Then, chef Ignacio Mattos got things going in the kitchen, churning out some of our favorite apps, like perfectly crisp arancini, rich anchovy crostini, baccala fritto, date and pancetta involtini and oysters with a refreshing tomato vinaigrette.
Mattos, who also owns industry favorite Estela, even managed to sneak into the airy and elegant dining room to show off his pasta-making skills, teaching guests how to make orecchiette (Italian for "little ears"). Nearby, his partner Thomas Carter demonstrated his prowess making the Negroni Sbagliato, his version of the classic cocktail, which swaps in bubbly for gin. Breadsticks and an elaborate antipasti spread helped fortify guests as the night wore on.
To wrap things up, the evening ended on a sweet note with slices of chocolate and walnut cake—the perfect end to the perfect evening.
The orecchiette were finished with greens and pine nuts.
A fleet of new BMWs was ready to go outside of Café Altro Paradiso.
Guests had the chance to take one of several cars for a ride around the neighborhood.
Cocktail time: Bar staff whipped up signature drinks for the event.
Crispy arancini made their way round the room but disappeared quickly.
Chef Ignacio Mattos and co-owner Thomas Carter welcomed guests to their restaurant, Café Altro Paradiso.
Chef showed guests how to roll out pasta dough and make orecchiette. Pro tip: Be careful!
It's all about that perfect orange twist.
Oh, you know, just hanging out, enjoying our dream car for the evening.
Let's go for a ride.
The culinary team made sure the pasta was just right.
Orecchiette, which means "little ears" in Italian, are made by pushing down on the dough with your thumb.
Guests sat down for a few bites with friends.
Oysters on the half shell kept the mood festive.
We'll see you at the bar.
Guests sipped on speciality cocktails, like the Skinned Knee, made with tequila, mescal, Cynar, grapefruit, lemon and orange.
That all-important strain kept cocktails ever so smooth.