Some new friends mentioned that one of their relatives by marriage owned Cacio e Pepe, an Italian trattoria on Second Avenue near 12th Street in the East Village. They thought we should try it together.
I arrived before they did at this cozy, packed restaurant and got to chat with Chef Salvatore Corea as I arrived (Be sure you make a reservation!). He offered me a glass of Prosecco while sharing details about his cooking. Salvatore serves authentic Roman cuisine, with some dishes having an unusual twist; each one I sampled is worthy of a return visit.
We started with his Timballo di melanzane alla parmigiana ($14), layers of molded eggplant parmesan topped with a crisp fried basil leaf that’s not to be missed. Instead of tomatoes and regular mozzarella, his Caprese salad ($15) is made with black (yes, black) buffalo mozzarella colored with vegetable coal. (Which I learned later helps digestion of the cheese!) Also, a refreshing starter is the arugula, pear batons and sliced Pecorino salad ($10). His unusual soup is made with broccoli rabe, having none of that veggie’s bitterness; it’s served topped with a smoked onion gelato ($14).
When inside, you can’t miss the wheels of pecorino passing the table—they look more like a big birthday cake than a wheel of cheese. That’s how they serve the eponymous pasta dish: housemade tonnarelli pasta tossed in pecorino cheese with cracked black pepper ($18). It’s so cheesy, so good.
The pillow-light housemade gnocchi come in a tomato sauce with gooey melted fresh mozzarella. The risotto is unusually flavored with traditional parmesan, yet unorthodox coffee shreds and a pumpkin puree that enriches the rice ($18). Although good, my least favorite is his bucatini alla matriciana ($18), the tubular spaghetti with tomato, pecorino and guanciale, as I found the cured 
pork cheek too fatty.
Then came the parade of desserts ($10 each)—all made in-house. We sampled their moist tiramisú served in a champagne glass, panna cotta with cinnamon grapes and figs in red wine, and vanilla gelato with biscotti.
This is sure to become one of your favorite Italian trattorias.
– bonnie
Cacio E Pepe
East Village
182 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 505-5931
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