THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Acqua Pazza

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Acqua Pazza Restaurant Review:

There seems to be a trend nowadays that winds up in the standardization of the décor in restaurants. Architects and designers restrain their ingenuity within a few tones, where black and white prevail, infusing in the rooms a sleek ambiance that tends sometimes to become a tad cold. At Acqua Pazza, however, the highlight brightening this austerity is the bar near the entrance, which shines and indeed attracts the night navigator like the beacon from a vessel in a dark ocean. Even with its name that also describes the specialty of the house, this Italian eatery hardly differentiates itself from so many established Italian places. Acqua Pazza is a simple and natural dish in which fish is cooked in seawater and additional sea salt with a swish of olive oil. What makes the recipe work at its best is, of course, the freshness of the fish, especially when you catch it and cook it on a Mediterranean beach. Chef Massimo Girardi deploys all his skills to attempt to re-create in the heart of New York these exquisite Ligurian components. He also does a proper reduction of balsamic vinegar to accompany a grilled tuna. The menu focusing mostly on the Oceans offers only three meat courses including a rack of lamb predictably perfumed with rosemary and garlic, and a chicken Sorrentina with the traditional Italian attributes of tomato, mozzarella and white wine. The desserts are not the major attraction of the house. The wine list is entirely Italian with some reasonably priced choices, notably a pleasant Barbera.