For any schlubs out there who reside on the Upper West Side, I would recommend checking out Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto on Amsterdam Avenue and 73rd Street.It's an Italian tapas restaurant / salumeria (which, if you don't know what that is, is the Italian version of the charcuterie -- a lot of cured meats and cheeses).
I went with my godfather, Arthur Schwartz, and it surpassed expectations.
We stuck mostly with the little plates -- I had a spare rib in red sauce which fell off the bone and was exceedingly delicious and a tiny square of lasagna (which I think might have had cinnamon or some other sweet spice in it, but was used to excellent effect). The caponata (a sweet eggplant relish) was perfectly decent as was the tripe (if you like tripe -- I don't, particularly). We also had some sort of roasted pork sandwich (which was, I think, a special) that was outrageously good.
Nothing was above $8.
When you take them all together it gets a little pricey, but I think you can feel satisfied after four plates. You'll spend roughly $26 to $27 -- without tax or tip (most of the items are $7 or $6.) Which is really not that bad, considering location and the quality of the meal. (Oh, and we had an exceptionally cute waitress. Wanted to be an actress.)
Eat, drink and be schlubby!
