Danny Meyer has always been one of my idols; he has been a driving force of the New York restaurant scene for over twenty years. When I heard he was opening his first truly Italian restaurant (and first full-service restaurant since the Modern in 2005), I was obviously excited.
Maialino (little pig in Italian), a Roman trattoria, opened at the Gramercy Park Hotel last week. One would assume it would be sexy and snooty, but that assessment could not be more inaccurate. The David Rockwell designed space is rustic and casual, with a lot of exposed wood. The service has the token Danny Meyer warmth of his other restaurants. The bar provides at least a dozen of wines by the glass of all different price points and varieties, Italian of course.
I only had the opportunity to try some snacks from the abridged bar menu, including amazingly crispy, yet not over oily, fried artichoke hearts and a melazane parmigiana which rivaled that of my late Calabrese grandmother. The teaser I had at the bar most certainly makes me eager to have a proper meal there in the near future, including the namesake suckling pig.
