Pasta Eater Opens Serving The Freshest Pasta in Downtown NYC

Restaurant Critique
Pasta Eater 9 East 17th Street New York, NY
Pamela Goldman
Photos: Gerald Feldman
Patch.com
Make no mistake: As you enter Pasta Eater, located at 9 East 17th Street, NYC, you will see the freshest pasta being made all day long, through its glass windows at the front of the restaurant. In the heart of Union Square, this eatery just recently opened its doors on September 12th, 2019. Expert Giusto Priola has over 20 years of experience in the NYC restaurant business. His already hugely successful “Cacio e Pepe” the first of his restaurants opened in 2004….has captivated the appetites of the New York culinary audience.

The menu at Pasta Eater is created by Chef Luigi Centrulo who claims to have integrated the culinary tradition from his home, the land of “grand arso”, near the town of Foggia, Apulia which dates back to the days of feudal territories. He claims that this is what makes his pasta so unique: the burnt wheat flavoring. Seemingly having decades of experience, Chef Centrulo is all but 33 years of age, yet has cooked at the finest hotel restaurants in Italy, Switzerland and New York.

The upbeat excitement is in the air at Pasta Eater. We started with two seafood antipasti dishes. Tartare Di Tonno Croccante which was a crunchy tuna tartare. The tuna was extremely fresh but what made this dish unique was that it was layered with delicate, paper thin crisps of lemon flavored Carasau bread. Wisps of micro-greens were the final touch of this unique version of tartare. We also tried the Polpo alla Griglia, grilled octopus on a bed of parsley, capers, black olives, lime wedges and olive oil. The smokiness from the grill, deliciously permeated the flavor of the octopus which was very tender throughout.

Now we arrive at the main course, the chef’s expertise: Pasta. With over 18 pasta dishes to choose from, we ordered two pasta dishes. The first was Linguine Vongole E Bottarga. This was linguine with fresh cooked clams served in their shell. But the secret ingredient which made this dish stand out from all linguine with white clam sauce was the use of Bottargo, tuna caviar. It wasn’t visible to the eye, but enhanced the flavor so much that it had a briny, straight from the ocean, depth of flavor. For me, it was the best dish of the night and the truest example of how Chef Centrulo does a very popular dish with his own unique, sublime spin on it. The second main course was Pappardelle Al Ragu di Chinghiale E Tarufo, Pappardelle pasta with wild boar ragu and black truffle. A very hearty dish, the boar had more of a consistency of beef rather than pork. And wow!, the truffle blend was served in abundance. In fact all of the dishes served were generous portions, each with flavors that brought you back through centuries of time, Italian style.

Although the restaurant has yet to get a liquor license, they generously served bottles of Limonata, an imported Italian lemon soft drink from Sicilia. Like everything they do, both expert Giusto Priola and Chef Luigi Centrulo have the magic of success and imagination at their fingertips. And now with Pasta Eater, they are a duo of combined talents and a force to be reckoned with here in this city of dreams, New York style.