Morandi - West Village

After being locked up in my apartment job hunting for the past few weeks I decided to grab an early dinner with my friend and former co-worker Debbie. I think we both deserved a fun night out after the stress we had just dealt with at our former place of employment.

We ultimately decided on Morandi in the West Village because I'm obviously a sucker for all things Italian, and I'm constantly on the search for my new favorite place. This cute and cozy restaurant is located on Waverly at 7th Ave, and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. This is the perfect place for a date, or in our case, a nice place for two friends to grab an early dinner and drinks.

Our waiter quickly approached, poured us some water, and took our drink orders. A basket of bread arrived shortly after and we were off to a wonderful start. I have found that while California had some great qualities, good service was not one of them -- oh how I missed NYC.

Rose and Delicious Bread

Debbie decided to order from the "Focacce E Panini" section of the menu, and selected the Facaccia prosciutto & rucola aka Focaccia, stracchino cheese, prosciutto and arugula.  She really enjoyed it, however she felt that the "panini" description was deceiving, because she was expecting a sandwich instead of a flatbread.

I decided to order the pasta special which was homemade tagliatelle with corn, pancetta and mushrooms. This dish was amazing. The pasta was light and fresh, the mushrooms were tender, the corn added nice texture, and the pancetta added some necessary fattiness to the dish. I really appreciate when a pasta dish isn't swimming in sauce. Morandi allowed the freshness of the ingredients to speak for themselves and it made for an exceptional dish (if it were up to me I would add this to the permanent menu).

All and all I will say that this restaurant is on its way to earning a spot in my mental bank of favorite places to eat. I think I need to have a few more meals there before I can title it a favorite, but it's definitely on its way. This restaurant can also be very affordable - depending on what you order. Panini's range from $9 - $17, Pasta dishes are $15 - $24, and meats/fish range from $18 - $91 (aged porterhouse for two). There are also a bunch of wonderful antipasti choices that are all under $20.

If you're looking for a quick, cute, and tasty spot in the West Village for some delicious Italian food, you should definitely check out Morandi!