Maremma Trattoria Toscana is a quirky, fun restaurant in the West Village of Manhattan. Named for a region of Tuscany that is supposedly known for its cowboys, Maremma offers unique Italian fare.
The cowboy theme of the restaurant isn’t just for show. Maremma is so dedicated to the quality of their beef that they raise their own cattle. But beef isn’t the only thing on the menu. Keeping with Italian tradition, there is also a very healthy selection of pork products to choose from.
For appetizers, we started with the Prosciutto Bianco (house-cured lardo with rosemary and grilled bread), Speck Carpaccio and Cheese, Agnello (lamb meatballs), and Strozzapreti (Swiss chard dumplings with guanciale, onions and tomatoes). We almost bit the hand of the waiter who attempted to remove a couple of the plates before we were finished with everything. He didn’t have to learn that lesson twice. We finished every last morsel of the appetizers and stopped just short of licking the plates clean.
For my main course I had the Piselli which is hand-made gnocchi with peas, prosciutto and pecorino cheese. The gnocchi was made just how gnocchi should be made – very soft so that it melts in your mouth. One of my dining companions had the Cinghiale, a unique dish that Maremma is known for. The dish consists of pappardelle pasta with a chocolate-wild boar sauce. It sounds unusual, but it’s pretty awesome. I took several bites from her plate.
For dessert we somehow managed to find room in our stomachs for the molten chocolate cake. I really don’t know how we fit out the door after this meal.
So in case you can’t tell, I liked Maremma. Go there if you can.
Maremma Trattoria Toscana
228 West 10th Street
New York, NY
212-645-0200