Cardoncello Divino, located blocks away from Penn Station on W. 27th street, might be my all-time favorite Italian spot I’ve ever experienced in New York City. Everything inside, from the décor to the cuisine, worked for me when I took a friend there on a rather dull Thursday night this month.
I don’t have to go into too much detail to describe just how wonderful this NoMad hotspot is. For one, the space is wonderfully decorated to evoke the feeling that you are actually in Italy. It’s romantic and intimate vibes work perfectly with the food and drink they provided, not to mention the staff who wonderfully took care of us from start to finish.
The dinner menu is split up into three different sections: Per Cominciare (To Start), A Seguire (To Continue) and Per Finire (To End). Here is what I recommend that you try from each in order to truly experience all that Cardoncello Divino has to offer.
For starters, their Cardoncelli (Roasted Cardoncello mushrooms with potato, caciocavallo cheese & truffle tortino) is a great way to begin your meal. For some reason I’ve been on a major mushroom kick lately and the ones Cardoncello Divino provided along with its supporting cast was nothing short of amazing.
Up next, in their A Seguire section, try the Tortelli (Crab meat filled large tortelli, fresh green peas sauce and lemon zest). Anything stuffed inside a pasta works for me, and the crab meat inside with the peas sauce and zest was extraordinary. If they made a frozen version of this I would buy it as often as possible.
Finish your meal up with their Ippoglosso (Seared halibut filet, summer vegetables & roasted eggplant sauce). Heavenly in every way possible. The halibut was cooked to perfection and ended what was already a fabulous meal.
More information on Cardoncello Divino here.