You could say I stumbled on Crispo as an accident. Charged with making dinner reservations for a group of 6, I booked at a nearby restaurant that was just. too. loud. Like, we’re talking the kind of walk-in, cover the ears, scream “ya wanna get outta here??”
Any how.
I was a bit worried that it would be hard to find a table for 6 during prime time on a Thursday night, but thankfully I remembered reading good things about this Italian gem, and they were kind enough to squeeze a few tables together for us in our own little room between the front dining room and the back garden. Immediate points for hospitality (and rustic-cuteness!)
And then there was the food…
While there’s certainly no shortage of Italian restaurants in this city, Crispo delivers on authentic, fresh, and plate-licking good. Here’s a few foodie-porn shots of the dishes we devoured:
My personal highlights of the meal were the ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers as an app, and black truffle ricotta ravioli (sounds like a lot of ricotta, I know, but totally meshes so well together!)…oh, and another highlight? That we didn’t have to scream all night. That was pretty awesome, too.
WHERE: Crispo 240 West 14th Street New York, New York
If you go: Sit in the back garden (open year round!), and order the black truffle ricotta ravioli.
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
