Spaghettini Pomodoro

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
December 6, 2005

BIANCA
5 Bleecker St
(Bowery & Lafayette St)
New York, NY 10012
212-260-4666

Okay, so the truth comes out: I have not shared all my food secrets with you. I realized this in writing this piece about Bianca. I was going to introduce it as Celeste’s sister restaurant, and I thought that would be all I would need to say, except that so far there is no mention of Celeste on Cravings nor my number one most craved pasta in the city, their spaghetti alle vongole. I will have to remedy that after the New Year, but let’s get back to Bianca’s spaghettini pomodoro.

All the pastas on the menu are good, but I especially love the spaghettini pomodoro. It’s so simple. Homemade spaghettini with lots of tomatoes and some not-to-be-missed basil to complete the dish. This is the third pomodoro pasta I am praising on Cravings, and yes, I am a tomato-lover, but all three are great and have their own charm. Bianca’s spaghettini pomodoro is more rustic and heartier than the other two I’ve recommended from L’Impero and Esca (which is has the flair of a bit of spice and delicious lobster in it) but definitely addictive. At a much lower price than the other two, it’s an option that can become habit-forming.

The charm of Celeste and Bianca are in that they are cozy little neighborhood restaurants (one in the Upper West Side and the other in the East Village) with excellent fare at extremely reasonable prices. Both possess warm and welcoming atmospheres and one leaves having eaten a hearty meal that was entirely worth the price. Although Celeste’s spaghetti alle vongole is a bit of a far reach for me in terms of distance, I should be lucky that I have Bianca’s spaghettini pomodoro within reach. It’s not quite the same thing but it’s a good change of pace.

Also in East Village, Italian, Pasta