Italian Eats at San Marzano

I've been craving for Italian food and pasta for some time now. Late March, I decided to check out San Marzano in the East Village with three friends. Will was out of town, so it gave me a chance to catch up with close and old friends.

The menu at San Marzano excited me because of the food and how you can pair any type/shape of pasta with any sauce you want and only for $9.00.  The pasta is also made fresh in-house, another bonus point. They only take reservations for six and up, so we couldn't make one and walked in instead. We came on a Friday night around 6:30-7PM and pretty soon the restaurant was filling up quick. 

The restaurant isn't as big as I thought it would be, but I did love the chic ambiance - think low lighting and sleek decor. 

We started off with the Cavicchioli Prosecco, 1928. My friend made a fantastic choice because the Prosecco had notes of flowers, apples and citrus. It paired well with our appetizers and the prosciutto in our appetizer.

The calamari looked amazing on Yelp, but our waiter told us the restaurant wasn't serving it anymore, total bummer. We proceeded and ordered the burrata and Brussels sprouts.

The burrata was creamy pulled cow's milk cheese, prosciutto di parma with balsamic reduction. I really enjoyed the texture of the creamy cheese and it went very well with the bread along with the prosciutto. The combination of the three was smooth and crunchy at the same time with some saltiness to balance it out from the prosciutto. The Brussels sprouts was accompanied with pancetta, fuji apples, and pecorino. I thought they were tasty, but a little too charred or roasted. I enjoyed the ones from Aunt Jake's more. 

Pear & Gorgonzola Ravioli

A friend ordered this since it looked so good on Yelp. The pear and Gorgonzola ravioli was also $9.00, not bad right?  The pear Gorgonzola was accompanied with toasted walnuts, thyme, and shallots in a cream sauce. I didn't get to try a piece of my friend's dish, but she liked it and thought it was just right with the creaminess. The sauce complemented the ravioli very well. If you're a cheese or truffle lover, the sauce in this dish is the one you want because it has that type of flavor in it.

Farfalle with Bolognese Sauce

I got the Farfalle with Bolognese sauce. I've had Bologonese sauce before and I love it (when it's done and seasoned right). The Farfalle wasn't al dente which wasn't a huge issue, but I just prefer my pasta to be al dente. The Bolognese sauce was a little bland, could have used a little more salt. It felt like something was missing from the dish.

My two other friends also had pasta dishes, but didn't have a chance to capture what they ate - maybe next time I'll be quicker before they devour their dishes.

Overall, San Marzano was a winner minus the fact that pasta was a little bland. I also forgot to mention that they are pretty high tech when it comes payment. The waitress or waiter will come to your table with a tablet and a swipes your card right then and there for what you ordered. It's convenient and easy!

I am interested in returning here for dinner maybe with Will or just a small gathering. I am interested in trying their sangria, other pasta combinations, and hopefully the fried calamari when it's back in the restaurant.