Peachy Picks Il Corso Our Coverage Sponsored by Liz Barbatelli's The Laundry at Linens Limited and E. Braun & Co. in Beverly Hills
Peachy Deegan and Chef di cucina Gennaro Mazzella di Bosco
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You know we are always saying anything boys can do, girls can do better and we do hope to meet the talents behind Il Corso someday: Angela and Giovanna! Our friend Carastina also is a Manhattan restaurant owner, but in our 150 plus reviews we must say we almost never find female-owned enterprises, so high five! From the minute we walked in, veteran waiter Alessandro Carbonara warmly greeted us with prosecco that apparently was so exciting to drink a picture did not happen, and continued to be a genuine peach for the duration of the evening. You can tell Alessandro is the kind of person that views his occupation as a vocation rather than a job and his vast knowledge about everything Il Corso as well as his upbeat attitude made our experience just as stellar as the cuisine! Il Corso was first featured in Tasty Tidbits:
Its flawless Italian cuisine, tremendous staff and perfect midtown location with a classy atmosphere have earned Il Corso a spot among Peachy's Picks! Now, follow along the path to a fantastic dinner...and for you non-Italian speakers, you should know that Il Corso means path, and when they say path to a wonderful experience, you can count on that being an understatement. The lady that lived above their last location down the street and eats there every night has the right idea.
If you have had calamari at Italian-American joints, you should understand that is not how calamari is supposed to be done. See this? THIS is how it is SUPPOSED to be done! If she wasn't wearing a dress, Peachy would have bursted out in cartwheels around the restaurant after tasting this. The Grilled Calamari was not only grilled but also marinated, served with grilled asparagus, pistachio over arugula and red beets puree. Served hot, this appetizer is an absolute must and thank you to Alessandro for your excellent suggestion.
Peachy heard the Burrata shout from the kitchen: "Pick me!" so she did because she cannot resist this kind of mozzarella that is akin to a Ferrari in quality. Except in this case, you eat the Ferrari. As you can tell, at Il Corso they are into aesthetics and the heirloom tomatoes look like delectable flowers just bursting with flavor, and taste that way too.
You can see it is saying "Cheese!" in the closeup, and every bite of quality creaminess delivered three times a week from Campagna (near Naples) is soft as a pillow. Nevermind visions of sugarplums dancing in your head the night after you eat this-clearly it will translate into visions of Il Corso's Burrata! Anna Lewis was a perfectly pleasant host we noticed and graciously greeted each guest at their arrival.
As you know if you are an avid reader, Peachy always orders robust Italian wines at even non-Italian venues for the simple fact that she adores them. We give our highest accolades to the Sangiovese 09- Rubio, San Polo, Tuscany that we sipped upon during the evening. Its clear versatility, depth of flavor and splendid balance so wowed us.
Peachy has heard that the Guazetto is a total dream so she just had to try it, and those that advised us: you are so right. Executive Chef Gennaro Mazzella di Bosco is a clearcut talent and a peach to meet, though his English is as limited as Peachy's Italian. She of course was able to share her favorite Italian phrase: Amo Le Scarpe Italiane! Another thing to love now in Italian is definitely this Guazetto. Branzino, mussels, clams, octopus, calamari and shrimps with a light cherry tomato sauce served with broccoli rabe:
The green provided a nice contrast to the symphony of the sea above, and the combination was not only delicious but healthy as well Peachy believes. Every component of the Guazetto was perfectly cooked and the ratio of each component to each other provided for an ideal mixture of each ingredient-all of which were so, so fresh. As soon as you smell the Guazetto you will feel like you are transported to Southern Italy...but the cuisine is not the only area that Il Corso excels at. They are the hostesses with the most in hospitality. M
aybe because it is run by women, this is the first restaurant that has ever offered us a chair for our bag:
Clearly not only is it a chair for your bag, but it is LITERALLY a chair for your bag: a person could not sit on it since it is meant for a bag. Stephanie Johnson you ought to be reading this!!!
Obviously Peachy keeps the bag well-fed and we needed no help there. We all know low-maintenance is not in someone's vocabulary.
The next culinary feat Il Corso lept through with gold stars was the pasta portion, and they get lots of points for creativity here as well. Alessandro, you are right again with your suggestion of the Tagliolini funghi e Speck: Tagliolini with porcini mushrooms, light cream sauce, wrapped with thin slices of smoked prosciutto was completely alluring and once it ascended your palate, will awaken every taste bud you possess. These are flavors that make sense to put together and are not a strange concoction that can be encountered at lesser establishments. Trying this pasta dish is essential to your Il Corso experience!
As you can see, life at Il Corso is full of difficult choices:
Though the limoncello looked fantastically refreshing for a lovely summer night, Peachy Deegan absolutely could not resist the Tiramisu and once it was placed in front of her, no one heard a peep until she was finished. One of the very best Tiramisus we've ever encountered, every bit was rich, creamy and the firework ending to a spectacular meal-the only parts missing were Angela and Giovanna! But alas, we understand they were in Italy. Hope to meet you another time!
Our esteemed panelist comments:
What a great dining experience at Il Corso! I really enjoyed every course of my dinner there. The dining room is intimate, and comfortable and the staff make you feel right at home. We were greeted at our table first by manager Alessandro who couldn't have been more friendly, polite and knowledgeable about the restaurant and italian food in general. I could tell that he has been a part of this restaurant for a while and could see the passion he had for the many great Italian dishes they serve. He first brought us some nice prosecco while we looked over the menu.
Before ordering we were brought some fresh bread and a unique olive oil dip. This olive oil had lentils in addition to Italian spices. I've never seen this before, and Alessandro confirmed that it is a unique creation of Il Corso. This was great, and it set the stage for the unique and delicious dishes to follow.
Being a seafood fan, I decided to start with the grilled octopus.
Alessandro insisted that we also try the calamari over asparagus and pistachio, and I'm so glad he did. Both the calamari and octopus were superb. Peachy and I agreed that Italian restaurants have the best seafood. These two plates definitely confirmed that!
For my main, I went with the special of Wild Striped Bass over asparagus and leek purée. Delicious! If this makes it on to the regular menu, that will be a very good thing.
Alessandro suggested a red wine, Sangiovese '09, stating, everyone has white wine with seafood, but you don't have to, our red wine is great! Excellent suggestion since I love red.
I could have been perfectly content with my dinner thus far, but we were given one more pleasant surprise, the Tagliolini funghi e Speck.
This had very fresh tasting homemade pasta and delicious smoked prosciutto.
I had the berry crem brûlée for desert, made perfectly with in season blueberries and blackberries. A fantastic treat to end the night with.
Thank you to everyone at Il Corso, I had an amazing experience. It seems as though there were many other surprised to be found on the menu.. I will for sure be back (maybe a few times) to try them out!
Peachy Picks Il Corso!
Il Corso is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
