A Friday night dining adventure with my New York friends Dave and Marisa lead us to Alphabet City to the acclaimed Supper Restaurant. Upon arriving at 8pm, and during the dinner rush, we are advised that the wait for a table is an hour! They take no reservations, it's a bit of a hipster foodie destination and there's a hungry waiting crowd. These are the ingredients to a 'must dine at' restaurant in NYC for me. So we commit to the wait and we are advised to go to Sugo's Wine Bar right next door to kill some time. Sugo which literally translated from Italian means "the juice" or "the drippings from the meat" is a small dark space and is crowded already. We have a glass of prosecco but feel like we are being shoved and we need to shout at each other so we decided to put the pressure on and wait in front of Supper and watch the clock painfully tick down. We were distracted as there was some major hunky eye candy sitting in the heated patio and we took turns fantasizing on which one of us he would most likely be interested in.. helped us pass the time more quickly.
After a 1 hour and 10 minute wait, we finally make it in the restaurant and at this point, we are ready to eat anything. The restaurant is dark and intimate, and casually hip with loud music and bustling with energy. We weave our way into the back room through narrow corridors and are seated at a long L shaped communal table where another group is placed. Supper is the epitome of what 'Rustic Italian' should be; casual, effortless and warm.
While we were waiting, the host and hostess outside taunted us with their recommendations and we end up ordering everything they suggest. Our starters include the black Kale Panzanella which is a bread salad, the olive oil they use is top notch here and our justification is Kale is a super food so we were being healthy with this choice. We also order the Burrata Mozzzerella over a bed of tomatoes and basil. The Burrata is humongous and literally translates to 'butter'. It is soo rich and SOOO good. Apparently Supper get the cheese and the tomatoes imported from Puglia Italy numerous times a week making them very fresh and the cheese just melt in your mouth creamy. This was a huge portion! We also get the veal polpettini which are mini baby cow meatballs. They are a bit grey in colour but don't let that put you off as they are juicy and full of flavor. They are served in a savoury and light broth that is so good that you won't want the waiter to take it
Now to our mains: Tonight there is a spinach gnocchi special which we order. It's served with a tomato sauce and is a little limp and isn't my favourite gnocchi that I've ever had. Marisa orders the 'priest stranglers'-- which is a homemade pasta that they make in little wavy shapes. It comes in a sweeter tomato sauce with a heaping helping of fresh ricotta on top of it.
Dave orders the the Veal Scallopine alla Milanese which is another popular dish for Supper. When it comes, the paper-thin veal takes up the entire plate and is light and delicate and even with all the food, we finish all our dishes.This is definitely a hot spot for simple and delicious Italian fare with reasonable prices, an extensive (but only Italian) wine list and remember to grab $$ as it's CASH ONLY.
**** stars
Supper
156 E 2nd St (between Avenue A & Avenue B)
New York, NY
Neighborhoods: East Village, Alphabet City
(212) 477-7600
www.supperrestaurant.com
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