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| Covo Ristorante- 701 W135th St & 12th Avenue |
I want to start of by saying that I'm an asshole when it comes to my sense of direction. I put my so much trust in the Google Maps app on my iPhone (which is usually right) and even more trust in my abilities to follow those directions. I say this so that you don't end up standing in front of the Hudson River being pimp smacked by torrential rains without an umbrella for defense :-/
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| I was like B.O. only without the Umbrella |
THE SET-UP
I set up a double date with my girl and a co-worker of hers after my boys put me on to the spot following a 2-hour basketball run. Since I was ill-dressed the first time (a sweaty cut-off T and shorts was not pimpin), I decided to come back and do it right.
Remember the first paragraph about the Husdon River, monsoons, and no umbrella? Yes, that WAS me. Cold and wet, I stepped into the restaurant on a Sunday evening only to be received by the compassionate eyes of a hostess and a laughing girlfriend. I kept thinking to myself that scenes like this only happen in movies. A failed attempt to blow-dry my shirt with a bathroom hand dryer thwarted any chances of a Clark Kent-esque transformation. Again, scenes like that only happen in movies (Side note: the movie industry is completely irresponsible for its depiction of the laws of science) Nevertheless, my friends still welcomed me with open arms :)
THE FOOD
The pasta is made fresh and the sauces are very flavorful. The first time I was there I had the linguini nere, A DISH OF homemade black linguine w/crab meat and spicy tomato sauce. Since I'm greedy, I added shrimp. The second time I indulged in the pasta bolognese. The pasta was just as fresh, the sauce was neither too thin or too thick, and there were appropriate clumps of beef within the bolognese sauce.
Seafood there is fresh; the texture of the shrimp was succulent with a slight crunchy feel.
They have nice thin crust pizza pies that are appropriate sizes for one hungry person. I got a bite of the margherita pizza, which was a solid pick.
Booze is cheap there: you can get a bottle for about 35 bucks. The four of us got two.
The desserts are AMAZING! I had a nice a aforgato dish, which consisted of 2 scoops of vanilla gelato smothered in a kiddie pool of espresso. I got two orders.
All-in-all, Covo Restaurant is a fantastic experience in the fine art of Italian cooking. Don't go in there expecting Il Mulino, but go in there expecting to be pleasantly surprised by this restaurant under the El train.
