Rezdôra Osteria Emiliana Awards

Rezdôra Osteria Emiliana Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: Named after the Modenese word for grandmother, this Flatiron restaurant from chef-partner Stefano Secchi – who worked under world-renowned Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy – features simple yet elegant cuisine from Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. The cozy, simply outfitted restaurant has plenty of exposed brick and a lovely 12-seat bar.

Likes: Pasta; sea bass; olive oil cake; low-key but attentive service.
Dislikes: Can be loud and hard to snag a table.

Food & Drinks: Start with a cacio e pepe salad, crisp lettuce coated in plenty of black pepper and a pecorino dressing, or (and) burrata with braised leeks and carpione sauce. Handmade-pasta dishes rotate seasonally and are not to be skipped, especially when it comes to strozzapreti with rock shrimp, tomato and basil, and the “uovo raviolo di nino bergese” stuffed with ricotta and gorgeously runny egg yolk and scented with the earthy decadence of black truffle. Or dive into a “regional pasta tasting,” a menu celebrating pastas from around the region. Non-pasta options are hits, too, like sea bass served with black garlic and pea tendrils, and “cow grazing in emilia romagna” (Secchi often takes a poetic approach to menu writing), a butter-basted, tender sirloin with a sweet, tangy red pepper sauce. End with warm olive oil cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The thoughtful wine list centers around northern Italian bottles, and many good values can be found.