Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, partners in the kitchen as in life, have been included in the Best Chefs list in New York 2019 thanks to their Via Carota restaurant: we discover what and how we eat
They have recently been named among the Best Chefs from New York in the coveted list James Beard Restaurants and Chefs 2019, insert between Best Restaurants of the city from New York Magazine for their restaurant Via Carota, defined by the New Yorker such as the most perfect restaurant: Rita Sodi is Jody Williams have definitely conquered the foodies Americans and not only. The secret lies in the winning formula of simplicity and quality, which diligently apply to their seasonal menu in full respect of Italian tradition and local production.
Via Carota it is located in the West Village, a few steps from Bleecker Street, where the streets shrink and the houses are brick with the iconic steps at the entrance that we have come to love from movies and TV series; Carrie Bradshaw of SATC lived few blocks further north. The large showcases with solid profiles enclose a warm and familiar atmosphere, which on the first creak on the floor with light planks embraces you sincerely. The stylistic inspiration comes from the chef's family home in Tuscany Rita Sodi, an ancient residence of the seventeenth century. To welcome you in what defines itself as "gastroteca", there are young waiters in a crisp white shirt and long aprons in linen who take your name with a big smile and write it on the cast iron pole with chalk. Yes, because from Via Carota they do not take reservations and a glass of wine at the impressive bar counter quickly makes us forget the wait. Rustic and genuine furniture hosts porcelains, bottles of wine and fruit baskets, while cantucci and homemade cakes greet the diners from the central dark marble countertop in the main room. Here too the tablecloth gives way to the thick wood of round and square tables, around vintage chairs from an English chapel that contain the rolled menu on the back. From the first glance, one perceives the all-Italian feeling with which this special place has been built in the heart cool of Manhattan, reciprocated with mutual affection.
Instead of door strips in leather or laminated brochures, the menu of Via Carota it is an A3 sheet of ivory paper the size of a poster: a message intended to make people understand that it is precisely from here that the poster of the couple's food and drink business starts. Rita Sodi is Jody Williams. Printed monthly in full compliance with the seasonality of the ingredients, the list is striking for the unusual arrangement of the courses: in the center, vegetables. From Fennel, pecorino and anchovy sauce until Black cabbage with lard or Asparagus and pecorino cheese, one understands on the fly that simplicity is the key to understanding the kitchen of Via Carota. At the first bite of the scafata (beans, artichokes, endive and peas sautéed in a pan), quality comes to confirm its success. Suffice it to say that the last dish of Via Carota celebrated from The New York Times is … theGreen salad with a light sherry-based vinaigrette. A mountain of bright grass-colored leaves as high as possible almost to defy the law of gravity composed of a mixed salad of endive, lettuce (also frisée) and watercress watered with a seasoning thread and generously studded with shallots and mustard seeds; an impeccable confirmation.
«Our Italian food is like a collection of stories that come to the table, in a bowl or on a plate. Our goal is simple: to honor the markets and farms from season to season, educate our cooks and maintain a balance between authenticity and spontaneity in the kitchen ".
Through the menu, the candid journey into the traditional Italian cuisine of Via Carota is accomplished by tasty stops by the Spuntini (Olive all 'Ascolana, "Nduja arancini, Bagna Cauda) to Appetizers (Tuna and beans, Burrata di Puglia, Salami and pecorino), passing from the praise Florentine trippa to Tonnarelli Cacio and Pepe up to the much appreciated Fried rabbit. Separate chapter for the Via Carrot Switzerland, lightly seared in a pan with rosemary and garlic, which makes you love to madness for its infinite purity making you forget the exaggerated local hamburgers. To close in sweetness, the proposals are many: Zabaione, Crostata, Biscuits, Semifreddo, Panna Cotta, all naturally prepared in the kitchen. Note on the choice of ingredients used from what they call Community, or a network of producers local honestly told online.
If the first restaurant opened in New York in 2008 I Sodi represents the brave past, Via Carota it is the lively present, which joins the brilliant future of Pisellino Bar. In fact, Rita and Jody are continuing their enogastronomic journey together with the conquest of New York with this new venue opened in June destined to bring the Italian spirit of our tasty habits such as breakfast or aperitif. Good luck!
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