The New Restaurant From Don Angie Is Full of Flavorful Stunts

Chefs Angela Rito and Scott Tacinelli opened Don Angie on a quiet corner of the West Village in 2017 with an ambitious objective: to carry Italian American food into the present, adding recipes that are embroidered on modern Italian fare. In the former category was a version of lasagna presented in what amounted to baked enchilada form, the truncated cylinders poking skyward, making the dish fun to eat if not otherwise innovative; and in the second category, an intriguing version of veal tonnato in which both the meat and the fish were raw.

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Now the pair have opened another restaurant at the opposite end of Don Angie’s Greenwich Avenue block (a partnership with Michael Stillman’s Quality Branded), named San Sabino, after the patron saint of the village of Sanza, near Salerno, who legendarily drank poison and did not die. I went with a friend recently and we found ourselves standing in a line of would-be walk-ins, the end of which nearly touched a similar line hoping to get into Don Angie. But we managed to easily get in, in spite of the reservation service claiming no tables were available at any time.

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

The double storefront that was Benny’s Burritos has been completely transformed into a dining room and bar you are glad to be in. A bright yellow interior makes the place seem sunny even after night has fallen, and astral light fixtures straight out of the ’60s made us feel like George and Jane Jetson. The apps, too, seemed right out of the Kennedy era.

Served in a crab-shell-shaped ceramic bowl, a dip of crab and mortadella in thick mayo ($18) tasted like a recipe out of Family Circle. The dip is served with Ritz crackers in a manner reminiscent of Gabrielle Hamilton’s sardines with Triscuits at Prune. Though the flavor was delectably crabby, the mort added little to the dip. Ask for more crackers.

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Iceberg lettuce is the heart of another appetizer, insalata Louie, inspired by a salad called crab Louie invented in San Francisco around 1910. This version features shrimp and avocado in a remoulade, tossed on top of iceberg in a way that makes the appetizer difficult to eat without a sharp knife. The best of the starters we tried was a trio of fried dough frittelle ($14) like northern Italian gnocco fritto, drizzled with honey and topped with shaved Romano cheese, delivered to the table warm. Gosh, they were good.

Pasta is best eaten as its own course in the traditional Italian fashion. We had two, including the napkin-shaped pasta sheets called triangoli ($38), filled with a modest quantity of lobster and folded like napkins. They were really quite wonderful in their creamy white vodka sauce, dramatically sprinkled with black garlic. (There’s also a daring mashup called pepperoni carbonara, $28, made with ziti and Sichuan peppercorns, that we’ll have to go back for).

On the negative side, sheep’s ricotta gnudi came weirdly dunked in a tart and chunky peanut agrodolce. Strewn around were clementine segments — so small I pitied the cook who had peeled them — and the astringent herb Vietnamese mint. It didn’t work in this context, but reminded me that Don Angie, too, offered the stray Asian element, such as its memorable chrysanthemum salad.

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

By far the most dramatic dish of the evening goes by the coy name of shrimp Parm ($38). The eponymous shrimp are nearly a quarter pound apiece, as the waiter tells us. They have been carefully cleaned, but the head left on for dramatic effect. They rear out of a lake of cheese, and when you dig deeper, you’ll find their bodies thickly breaded. The sauce is piquant and unforgettable — the chefs make one of the city’s great marinaras.

We found ourselves plowing through the dish delightedly, though the flesh of the shrimp was relegated to a passive role, and during our rapid inhaling the question hung in the air: Isn’t this a waste of really great shrimp?

Desserts seem like an afterthought on San Sabino’s menu. The crespelle (Italian crepes) we shared were glistening and caramelized, with a rum-lime crema, utterly delicious.

Robert Sietsema/Eater NY

The by-the-glass wine list runs to 15 selections in five categories averaging $18 (the cocktails are similarly priced). My friend and I went straight to the wines made in the shadow of Sicily’s Mt. Etna, with a distinctive dryness and flinty taste: a white Carricante, made with an unusual local grape; and a red Nerello Mascalese that was light and tart enough that it even went well with dessert.

The restaurant will certainly be a hit, and is to be commended for its quirky menu and scrupulously plated dishes. Still, our meal felt something like a roller coaster ride, with dishes that were challenging, yet somehow also familiar. And our meal cost $230, pre-tip.

Alice Gao/San Sabino