How I discovered Tre Restaurant in New York’s SOHO is quite by accident. Frankly, I was craving homemade pasta and wanted it to come from a small place that was family run in the Village, SOHO or Tribeca. Criteria was simply that, nothing more, nothing less. I came across Tre, which wasn’t far from a few other favorite eateries in the area I’ve been to over the years. After a chat with the owner Gino, who went on for 15 minutes about how fresh his ingredients were and how authentic his cooking was, Napoli style of course, I had to try it out. It was a spontaneous decision so off we went.
“Tonight?” he asked. “You want to come in tonight? Can it be another night” The poor guy had been up cooking since 4 am and needed to take a break, he said, but assured me that Angelo, his buddy would look after us if we came in.
Frankly, I was there for the homemade pasta and there were a few options to choose from, including lasagne, fettucini, spaghetti and gnocchi. Note not all their pasta is homemade but they had a number of choices to make it worth the stop. I substituted a bow tie pasta with veal with their homemade fettucini and we also ordered their homemade fettucini with Porcini, Cremini, & Shitake mushrooms, Parmigiano and truffle oil.
They also have a delicious radicchio, arugula and walnuts salad, which they serve with gorgonzola and pear, although we substituted the gorgonzola for pecorino cheese. Yum!
We had to try the fried ravioli since we were told that this was also prepared Napoli style. It was also apparently a local favorite and is a rarity on a traditional Italian restaurant menu. Delicious!
Tre is also known for their street food bite-sized samples, which include crispy fried artichokes, parsley with lemon, breaded fried mozzarella with a spicy tomato sauce, fried rice balls, sweet pea and mozzarella, fried ravioli with ricotta, salami and black pepper (above), old-fashioned mini meatballs, crispy goat cheese with red beet puree and crispy cod fritters with a puttanesca sauce. They are all only $6 a pop.
Cheesecake came marching out with a couple of dessert wines. How could we resist?
We loved this little gem! My only plea to Gino and team is to add a few more medium to full bodied red’s to their wine menu, both by the glass and by the bottle. The choices by the glass were a tad limited although no doubt, enough Chiantis and other light bodied choices for most Italians. That said, it’s not as if there’s not a veal and steak on the list so I’d love to see a few bolder reds on the menu
Next up is Pepolino on West Broadway. Think unpretentious trattoria serving Tuscan food with daily specials & brunch every day. Right on the edge of SOHO, it serves homestyle Italian food, as well as a fabulous ricotta cheesecake. Plus, there’s outdoor seating, which is great in the late spring, summer and fall.
A few other Italian eateries for fabulous food worth mentioning include:
- Bacaro for traditional Italian fare
- Sorella for Italian tapas
- Sauce for Italian sandwiches/subs, breakfast and brunch
- Mangiami Restaurant for traditional Italian fare
- San Marzano for more traditional Italian fare
- Taverna Di Bacco – classic Italian food (across the street from Tre)
- Antonioni’s for classic Italian pizza
Details:
- Tre Restaurant | 173 Ludlow Street | New York, NY 10002 – (between E. Houston & Stanton) — 212.353.3353
- Pepolino Restaurant | 281 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013 — 212. 996.9983
- Bacaro | Lower East Side – Italian 136 Division Street, New York, NY
- Sorello | Lower East Side – Italian, Tapas, Wine Bar 95 Allen Street, New York, NY — 212.274.9595 (2 blocksf rom Broome Street)
- Sauce | 78-84 Rivington Street, New York, NY
- Cucina Della Fontana | 368 Bleecker Street, New York, NY — 212.242.0636
- L’Oro Di Napoli | 206 Sullivan Street, New York, NY — 212.995.9200 or 212.598.4952 (cozy)
- Mangiami Restaurant | 9 Stanton Street, New York, NY
- San Marzano | 71 Rivington Street, New York, NY
- Taverna de Bacco | 175 Ludlow Street, New York, NY (across the street from Tre)
- Antonionio’s | 177 Chrystie Street, New York, NY
We plan to tackle Brooklyn, the Bronx and Long Island in the next few months.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
