Profile

The room, for the record, is not one of Bar Stuzzichini’s strong points. It’s overly big and poorly lit, and decorated with shades of firehouse red and lots of prefab wood moldings, like some unfortunate marriage between Pottery Barn and a local outlet of Pizzeria Uno. But what the restaurant lacks in style it makes up for with the easy, even artful simplicity of its cooking. Stuzzichini are the Southern Italian equivalent of antipasti (the word comes from stuzzichare, meaning “to pick”), a series of small dishes served, usually, at the bar. This means candy-size rolls of eggplant stuffed with creamy ricotta cheese, gold-brown arancini (rice balls) as big as plums, and artichokes, frizzled in the Roman Jewish style and served on sheets of butcher paper with wedges of lemon. The meatballs aren’t the usual giant cannonballs; they’re bite-size, with a crisp exterior, and the codfish stuzzichini come stacked in little strips, each one fried, like zeppole, in a balloon-thin batter crust. The chef at Bar Stuzzichini is Paul Di Bari (formerly of the Austrian restaurant Wallsé), and he imbues many of the dishes on his sparely edited menu with a light, gourmet touch. There are only five pastas available, but at least three of these (the handmade gnocchi Amatriciana folded in a ragù made with guanciale and onions, the chewy tagliolini alla limone with crunchy bits of pistachio, and the orecchiette mixed with spring peas, sweet onions, and cream) are themselves worth the trip. Order them with the weirdly delicious Scamorza alla brace—smoked mozzarella melted into a crunchy pancake and scattered with olive oil infused with chile pepper. — Adam Platt

Note

The Italian wine list is eclectic and well priced, and features many wines poured by the quartino, that friend of cheapskate oenophiles everywhere.

Ideal Meal

Stuzzichini codfish, artichokes, meatballs, or orecchiette with spring peas; lemon chicken or short-rib braciole, olive-oil cake.

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (9/17/07)

Best of New York Awards

• Best Small Plates (2008)

Featured In

• Places to Eat Rabbit (2/4/08)
• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)
• New York's Best Cheap Eats 2007 (7/30/07)
• Top Cooks' Favorite Cheap Eats (7/30/07)
• Restaurant Openings: Bar Stuzzichini, Bodeguita Cubana, and Cecel Crepe Cafe (5/28/07)