#47 – LASAGNA CINGHIALE at APIZZ

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

SADLY, APIZZ IS NOW CLOSED.

All winter I had been craving lasagna, an old-fashioned, hearty warming lasagna. The kind my grandmother used to make – if I had an Italian grandmother and she made lasagna.

I was hoping to fill my desire a few months back at the newly opened Porsena, but the much talked about lasagna there left me feeling flat with a bland sauce and soft pasta. Then I had a much better experience at Del Posto with their amazingly inventive (and delicious) 100 Layer Lasagna.

But my thirst was fully quenched when we found our way to the warmly lit and intimate Italian eatery Ápizz in the Lower East Side to taste the lasagna on Time Out’s list.

I’ve walked by here many times and expected a different sort of atmosphere inside. The restaurant has no windows and is isolated on a shady street between two housing projects. Yet my expectations for a stuffy, white table clothed restaurant were immediately replaced upon entering with red mood lighting, efficient service, and a wonderful meal at the bar.

The spinach salad (with pistachios, cannellini beans, and a lemon honey vinaigrette) was simple, fresh, healthy, and filling. A perfect way to start the meal.

And then came the Lasagna Cinghiale. I’m glad we only ordered one entree because it was more than enough for the two of us. It was served in a cask iron skillet and was floating in a sea of tomato sauce.

The cinghiale refers to a layer of boar meat ragú nestled between the pasta sheets. I made this type of lasagna once myself (although I certainly didn’t use the Italian word) for the series finale of Lost. My version turned out fine, but self taught chef John LaFemina found a much better recipe.

The pasta was perfectly cooked and that tomato sauce while heavy handed had a sweet tanginess that made extra bread for sopping a necessity. The boar meat was shredded so it felt like pulled pork, but had a gamey earthy flavor that was phenomenal. While I love ground beef and sausage in my lasagna, I didn’t miss it for a minute. This is the lasgana I didn’t realize I was craving.

Throughout the meal, whiffs of cooking herbs made their way to the bar. One minute it was rosemary, ten minutes later basil. They were a most wonderful aromatic accompaniment to a surprisingly special meal in a semi-hidden hot spot. It makes me want lasagna all throughout the year – never mind the weather.

Would Ápizz’s Lasagna Cinghiale make my Top 100 of the year? The wonderful and traditional take on my winter conquest was a huge surprise and because it was perfectly prepared and made for a joyous dinner, it gets a 9 out of 10.