Last night Andi, Victoria, and I checked out ápizz on Eldridge St. in the Lower East Side.

The space...

Clean, warm, and earthly neutral tones surround a beautiful open wood-burning oven. Very parent friendly, in a good way! There's a charming downstairs space too, en route to the restroom, which I thought could be good for small private dining engagements, were it not, as I said, en route to the restrooms for the entire restaurant.

The staff...

Polite, welcoming, and attentive. Very little to say as they were all you could ask for: you saw them when you might have needed something; they left you alone to eat; and I never saw them fill my water glass.

We ordered...

Primi
- Insalata Pomodoro, cherry tomato-red onion salad, baby arugula, basil, balsamic vinaigrette
- Insalata di Spinaci, chopped baby spinach, cannellini beans, pistachios, lemon-honey vinaigrette
- Ápizz Margherita, plum tomatos, buffalo mozzerella D.O.C., fresh basil

Secondi
- Ravioli con Zucca, open ravioli, ricotta, mascarpone, caramelized butternut squash, brown butter and sage
- Fazzoletti e Granchio, handkerchief pasta, sautéed jumbo lump crab meat, tomato-cream-basil sauce
- Lasagne Cinghiale, lasagne, ragù of braised wild boar, parmigiano-reggiano

The damage...

$156.45, including tip for a three-top.

So..?

Delicious, even if the ravioli was sweeter than most desserts. The wild boar lasagne was perfect, and the crab pasta was the plate I couldn't stop stealing from. Still, I loved the baby arugala salad the most, because it was essentially wild rocket, possibly my favorite food on earth, and oft impossible to find in the city.

ápizz, 217 Eldridge St., New York. Reservations 212-253-9199

@ www.apizz.com
@ New York Magazine review