When I heard about a restaurant opening in Gramercy that fuses Italian flavors with Japanese sensibility (read: plates that won’t leave you in a food coma), I knew I needed to give it a try. So the hubby and I headed downtown to Natsumi Tapas, a restaurant focused on small plates for grazing and larger plates for sharing, in typical Spanish tapas/Italian family meal style. With the lighter feeling of Japanese cuisine, of course. Pretty brilliant, right?
Like me, you may be wondering how exactly Italian and Japanese tastes marry together–seems like a bit of a strange concept for the palette, but I promise you, it’s a delicious pairing. There are many ways to experience Natsumi Tapas–pick your pleasure. Perhaps it’s the Natsumi Grilled Salmon with tomato sauce, olives, capers, scallions and bok choy, or maybe Ciao Meatballs are more your style–light and airy beef in a variety of sauces: parmesan cream, spicy teriyaki basil pesto, and spicy scallion marinara. For my fellow vegetarians, you’ll enjoy Green Tea Ricotta Flatbread covered with arugula, sliced grapes, tofu, king oyster mushrooms and a drizzle of truffle oil and balsamic reduction, or the Grilled Shiitake Penne with truffle cream sauce, rich and delicious with an interesting twist from the shiitake mushrooms–but still no where as heavy as a Penne dish you would find in Little Italy, promise.
The next time your hubby wants Italian and you want sushi, go to the place neither of you need to compromise on taste or quality: Natsumi Tapas.
Details:
Natsumi Tapas
323 Third Avenue at 24th Street
New York, New York
(212)-889-2182
Open on Monday & Tuesday 11:30am – 11pm, Wednesday – Friday 11:30am – 12am, Saturday 4:30pm – 12am, and Sunday 4:30pm – 11pm.
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.
