Give me a Vespa and I'll take you … to discover the best Italian restaurants in the world! In the first episode of Italian flavor, Maddalena Fossati Dondero, director of "La Cucina Italiana", and the chef Emanuele Pollini they run through the streets of New York with this medium so unusual for the Big Apple as perfect for telling that authentic Italian style that the two van looking for in the places of the City.

Home food in New York

Once the target is reached and the helmets are laid down, sit down at the table. And we seem to take our seats too, with curious menus to browse through, dishes to order among the embarrassment of choice, focaccia to be spiced in the wait, forkful to exchange to try everything. We would almost like to say ours on the plates and participate in the discussion if it were not for the moment that we can only frantically write names and addresses and postpone tasting to the next trip. The addresses, precisely: where you can eat – well – Italian in New York? Let's find out by retracing the gastronomic tour of the episode among the restaurants that have won the "La Cucina Italiana" badges.

Cardoncello: mushrooms and wine

The first stop of the two experts is Divine Cardoncello, a modern Italian tavern where, as the name suggests, most of the menu revolves around the cardoncello, a delicious mushroom, a symbol of a cuisine linked to the land, which can be enjoyed from appetizers to second courses through first courses. For the wine with which to accompany the courses, an expert sommelier can advise you. The atmosphere? Homemade but at the same time chic.
Dish not to be missed: Braised beef cheek, cardoncelli and baby zucchini
The experts' votes: Authenticity 8, Style 8, Tradition 9, Innovation 7
Badges assigned by La Cucina Italiana: 3

LaRina fresh pasta

The second Italian restaurant where the couple stops is La Rina Pastificio e Vino, a place located in Brooklyn, open for three years and owned by four young members. There is no shortage of Italian products such as Parmesan, Parma ham and burrata (produced in Brooklyn by Italians). The strong point, however, is the pasta, freshly prepared every day, which can also be bought inside the small restaurant market.
Dish not to be missed: Smoked spaghetti with garlic and oil
The experts' votes: Authenticity 9, Style 10, Tradition 10, Innovation 9
Badges assigned by La Cucina Italiana: 4

Felidia: tradition and innovation

Third best New York Italian restaurant: the manager and the chef come from Felidia, the place of the famous Lidia Bastianich, mother of Joe Bastianich. Opened in 1981 with the intention of offering regional Italian cuisine, it is now an icon of Italian food in the Big Apple. The menu combines tradition and innovation, in the atmosphere one breathes the Italian style perfectly integrated with the American one.
Dish not to be missed: Ravioli with cheese and pears
The experts' votes: Authenticity 8, Style 7, Tradition 9, Innovation 8
Badges assigned by La Cucina Italiana: 3

Tasty treats

Between one restaurant and another, Maddalena and Emanuele are tempted by other delicious insignia. From Myrtle Bagel they enjoy tasting bagels, typical of Eastern Europe, but much loved by New Yorkers: good with salmon, cream cheese, red onions, capers and tomatoes, minus the one with strawberry cream cheese. To the Pisellino Bar the two experts taste, instead, a real Italian coffee, drunk at the bar and served with a glass of water and cantucci.

The next episode

Now all that remains is to fly to Paris for the next tour!

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