Cuisine from the Italian region of Puglia isn’t well known in this country. Emilia-Romagana, the Veneto (especially Venice); Piedmont, Sicily are familiar to many Americans. Puglia remains obscure. HG loves Orechiette (“little ears”), a favored pasta shape in Puglia. BSK likes to smother these cute morsels with BSK’s broccoli sauce (good olive oil, anchovies, lots of garlic and hot pepper flakes; broccoli florets). BSK varies it by using broccoli di rabe and hot Italian sausage. Good stuff. Over the years a few Pugliese restaurants have opened (and closed) to great fanfare but there is one Pugliese restaurant that remains in New York — the imaginatively named Puglia in Little Italy. Been there since 1919. HG used to eat there many years ago. Loved the restaurant’s version of pasta e fagioli. HG was a bit timid in those days and shunned Puglia’s authentic tripe dishes and sheep’s head (kind of a peasant version of French tete de veau). HG checked Puglia’s current menu. These dishes do not appear. Menu (sadly) is like most of the others in Little Italy. Dumbed down food for tourists.
Leave a Reply