Pasta & Present
Zampa 306 W. 13th (at 8th Ave.) 212-206-0601
Most of my dinner party showed up late at Zampa, and its easy to understand why. The restaurant is located in that peculiar no-mans land between the West Village and the Meatpacking District, near the intersection of West 13th and West 4th streets, where Manhattans normal street-grid rulesthat avenues and streets, respectively, run perpendicularseem not to apply.
Hmmm, Zampa, a passerby mused when asked for help with directions. People are always looking for that place... My friends persevered, and soon enough, there it was: An Italian wine bar and eaterysoft glow, clinking glasses, convivial laughteremerging from the haze like an Apennine version of Brigadoon.
Zampa opened about a year ago as a café, initially serving small meat and cheese plates. More recently, it has added a dinner menu and extended its hours to accommodate the late, bohemian dinners that the neighborhood seems to inspire. If the buzzing crowd on a recent Monday evening is any indication, Zampa has already achieved the status of neighborhood standby.
The restaurants décor is sleek and attractive. White brick walls and columns frame the space, weathered dark wood tables line one wall and a long bar extends toward the rear. Elevated wine racks display Zampas collection of exclusively Italian wines, and large blackboards tacked here and there highlight food selections. Although Zampa is now a full-service restaurant, the menu still leans heavily toward smaller dishes, including salumi, formaggi and crostini antipasti, and a wide selection of salads. The large plate options, though limited, are diverse enough to satisfy most palates, and include fish, chicken, pork and pasta offerings.
To start, we selected two of the crostini plates ($8; three crostini per plate), one with fresh ricotta and roasted peppers and another with tuna and capers, drizzled in a spicy olive oil. The former was the bigger hit, the ricotta light and airy, floating above the bread like whipped cream. We also tried the duck prosciutto (salty and sharp like other cured meats, but with a richer finish), and a serving of sliced melon and prosciutto di Parma. My friend Tom, a downtown dandy and bon vivant who prefers his melons juicy and his meat stiff, said that this plate got it just about right.
The tables responses to the main courses were also positive, ranging from mild approval (This is pretty goodthe roasted beet salad) to the rhapsodic (This cannelloni is AMAZING). The oven-poached salmon with a salsa verde ($20) was competently prepared, each piece flaking seamlessly from the filet and served on a bed of lentils, boiled al dente. The ingredients in a tomato and arugula salad ($7) were fresh and crisp. And the aforementioned cannelloni ($16), one of the evenings specials, was baked and served in a deep pan that ensured uniform consistency. Mixed with sheeps milk ricotta and locally grown spinach, it was rich and creamy without being mushy.
The service on the evening we visited was courteous, if not entirely attentive. The waitress never offered or brought us water, and there wasnt even an attempt to match dishes with guests when the food arrived from the kitchen. But all was forgiven when the check arrived. A full dinner for six, including three bottles of wine, came to a reasonable $50 per person. With so many overpriced and over-hyped options both east and west, its worth the insult of pulling out your map to determine Zampas exact location.