Peachy Picks Amarone

You know Peachy Deegan just loves a place where she can drink the wine named after it...and that is exactly how our Amarone experience began!  Eastside Peachy ventured all the way over to 9th Avenue to find this diamond in Hell's Kitchen that you will love for its extraordinary cuisine, impeccable service and relaxed, welcoming nature that will make you feel like you are Italian too, even if you are Irish like Peachy Deegan.   We used to love Hell's Kitchen primarily because it is where the best American hockey player ever, Joey Mullen, a great Boston College graduate grew up, but now we also love it for Amarone, and Alex and Tony below, who were most gracious hosts.  Tony's "business card" is a peachy hue of pink rose which was terribly unique!  Tony is from near Rome and runs Amarone with his partner, Giovanni Apicella.  Alex is from near Verona.  Peachy's shoes are from Milan (of course by Anna Baiguera!) and though Peachy is not really Italian, her feet probably are.

Amarone was first featured in Tasty Tidbits:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2011/08/tasty-tidbits-amarone.html
And we are pleased to announce it has graduated to Peachy's Picks.

We were greeted with a plate of welcome bites:

Peachy was most thrilled with the cheese!

We then advanced to a lovely appetizer of buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto de parma.  You can see that the presentation was beautiful and the utmost care was put into every dish, each of which were delicious and justified Peachy's walk to 9th avenue.  You know we are predisposed to enjoy the best Italian places in the city and Amarone really impressed us.

Why do we love Amarone?  Let us count the ways.

Tony asked Peachy if she likes sardines.  The answer to that is, "NO!"

However, Peachy is all about trying new things and being a good guest and the modified answer to that question is, "I only like sardines if they are at Amarone."   Never before this has Peachy liked a sardine and these omega-3-packed guys swam over from Portugal and became sauteed and breaded to perfection and found a happy home in Peachy's stomach.

Next on the hit list was the Risotta a la Amarone.  It will just melt in your mouth and you know over the 15 years they've been open by now it is just perfection.  Also you should know that their specials are superb and they are super-accommodating to anyone with special dietary needs or a desire to have a dish a certain way.  Believe Peachy, you will not find that everywhere in New York.

The Amarone wine is a blend of three month dried grapes:
Corvina
Rondinella
Molinara
At Amarone, they pay attention to the wine glass as well and Renato Cantone is the glass designer behind the genius glasses they use;  he employs the Brunello Di Montalcino technique.
The wine becomes alive when you swirl it in both directions in this glass as there is a bit of a indentation in the glass to break up the wine and open it up.

As a main course we could not make up our minds, and in America you would call this surf and turf.  You do not call it that in a classy Italian restaurant like Amarone.

We had Gamberoni (i.e. SHRIMP for you non-Italian speakers!) grilled, marinated in EVOO, fresh herbs and white wine, and Filet Mignon with gorgonzola, black truffles and porcini mushrooms.  A total dream, each bite melted in our mouths and we can see why they have the reputation of being the best restaurant on 9th avenue.

Joined by broccoli rabe and potatoes, it was a total winner and we suggest you order this.

You cannot fail to please Peachy when you put anything chocolate in front of her!
And the dessert wine was superb; it aged 3/4 days as opposed to the three months of regular Amarone.  But it was a 100% Amarone wine night from start to finish: regular or dessert wine!

Our esteemed panelist adds:

Ristorante Amarone is where Italians (the ones from Italy, not the Jersey Shore) go to have a meal when in New York City. At Amarone, you are treated like family. At first, the menu seems pretty standard, until you realize that whats on the menu is only a guide. Don't see a lasagna on the menu? No problem, if the chef can make it, you can order it; and that is how our dining experience was for the rest of the night. Most of our dishes were not specifically on the menu. We started off with a glass of Amarone wine, a blend of three wines that is unusually smooth, and a plate of chunks of parmesan cheese and olives. Our second course was a refreshing buffalo mozzarella that was personally topped off with a few drips of extra virgin olive oil by our server and was accompanied by a side of prosciutto. Our next dish was a particularly pungent risotto served on a shell of baked cheese. We should also note that all pasta is made fresh daily at Amarone. For the adventurous, one should try the breaded sardines, a dish that I had reservations about at first but really enjoyed. One sardine is individual cleaned and prepared for each plate. Our main course consisted of grilled gamberoni (jumbo shrimp) and a filet mignon with a mushroom gravy and a side of broccoli rabe; Amarone's version of surf and turf. We were able to sample another cheese plate that included gorganzola, peccorino, and a bosco tartufo (peccorino with black truffles). Cheese lovers will appreciate the dish but those with a highly acute sense of smell should be cautious. 

While I waited for my cheese cake desert, we were treated with a glass of sweet desert wine, also an Amarone, but fermented for only three days, versus 10 for the regular wine. Peachy and I really appreciated the restaurant's attention to detail. For instance, we were given wine goblets that were formed with a crease in it which allowed for better aeration of the wine when swirled around. The wine was also poured through a decanter, and when I noticed a fleck of risotto on my shirt, someone on the staff came over with club soda and a napkin without any urging on my part. Most amazing is that with such a high level of service and attentiveness, Amarone is not pretentious in any way, making the dining experience even more enjoyable.

Peachy Picks Amarone!
Amarone is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
http://www.lunapienanyc.com/amarone_new/