Worth A Try
TLDR: Don Angie passes the hype test. With truly delicious food in a buzzy, “quintessential West Village” setting, you’re gonna have a Good Time™. Despite it being unreasonably annoying to get in, I know I’ll be going back at the next opportunity. If that’s not worth the hype, what is?
Image credit: grubstreet.com
As long as I’ve been in the city, I’ve known about Don Angie. Call it lazy, call it indifference, I’d just never been. Sure, you could go put your name down at 5:00 on a weeknight and probably get a decent dinner slot. You could press that refresh button right as reservations drop, and maybe snag a table for two. But we’re talking about West Village Italian…why put in the work when there’s a million of them?
Well fortunately for me, someone else did the hard part and I got a damn good meal out of it. As you might expect of a hard-to-get-in West Village establishment, the place is crowded but high energy. Inside feels a little like a french bistro with leather seats and dim orb lighting. Waiters skillfully navigate through half-foot gaps between chairs and there’s that buzz in the air that tells you people are happy to be here.
Perhaps all that energy makes the food taste better, because it is impressive. My favorite dish was actually a special: ricotta brown butter dumplings in an apricot and butter sauce. This was such a delicious and novel pasta – a perfect light bite of salty-sweet. I also thoroughly enjoyed the salad, which featured bitter greens topped in a snow of cheese and yummy, crunchy bread bits hidden inside. The only iffy starter was the scallop crudo, which just felt off brand flavor-wise.
As for mains, I don’t normally go for lasagna (too heavy, not enough taste), but it’s clearly the thing to get at Don Angie and I can see why people get excited about it. Instead of layering vertically, their lasagna sheets are swirled, giving you maximal crispy edges and minimal bechamel (clearly the worst part of lasagna). I’m not going to say I’m a lasagna convert, but it definitely has a kind of “I’ll just keep shoving this into my mouth, thank you” quality such that I looked up and realized it was already gone. The meaty lasagna went especially well with the equally addictive charred, nutty broccolini side.
On a revisit, I would probably skip dessert. I love a good tiramisu, but am admittedly a purist. The fresh take Don Angie puts on this classic dessert makes it taste more like coffee and Cocoa Puffs with a hint of caramel, and I’m just not here for that (you do you).
It was a very good meal and Don Angie is surely worth some of the hype. It’s been pumped up too much to say it’s everything you may have dreamed, but yeah, you should go. I know I’ll happily jump on the next opportunity to taste that sweet sweet pasta.
Comments