Highest Quality Ingredients

As their website noted, “The inspiration for La Villetta comes from frequent trips to a similar concept in Roma, Italy, and a love for Italian food. Its cuisine, wine, and cocktail lists are particularly reflective of dishes local to Puglia. Also, each course is prepared with the highest quality ingredients and made fresh daily. We offer approximately ninety wines by the bottle and a comprehensive selection of wines by the glass.”

So let’s check it out.

Entrance and outdoor seating at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Expansive outdoor seating at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Generous outdoor seating at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Dining Area at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Dining Area. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Dining Area and wine collection at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Dining Area and wine collection. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

What to order?

I was famished and chose the Pollo alla Contadino, Chicken Breast with grilled eggplant and melted smoked mozzarella.

Eggplant, chicken, mozzarella, vegetables and roasted potatoes at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Eggplant, chicken, mozzarella, vegetables and roasted potatoes. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

A close look at Eggplant, chicken, mozzarella, vegetables and roasted potatoes at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

A close look at Eggplant, chicken, mozzarella, vegetables and roasted potatoes. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

This was overall, one of the finest restaurant meals that I’ve had. The eggplant on the chicken and the melted mozzarella combination was particularly superb. La Villeta also delivered perfectly prepared vegetables and sublime roasted potatoes.

If you’re in the Midtown area closer to First Avenue check out La Villetta. It won’t disappoint!

The home of Electric Lemon at 33 Hudson Yards, New York NY. Photo by Sora Vernikoff

Electric Lemon at Hudson Yards

September 13, 2023 No Comments

The Electric Lemon restaurant is located at the top of the five-star Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards. The rooftop bar boasts an 8,000-square-foot rooftop garden with a monumental Jaume Plensa sculpture. It overlooks the Hudson River and the city skyline. They possess a wide range of food and drinks, from light bites to seasonal offerings at dinner and rooftop brunch on the weekends. It’s open all year round because of the sleek and expansive dining room and fire-pits on the al fresco terrace.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

September 13, 2023 No Comments

I suppose that the title of my blog post, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, is a little misleading because it turned out to be Dinner at Tiffany’s, or more accurately, Dinner at the Blue Box Café. This Cafe honors the romance of the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn. Tiffany’s of course was the romantic setting where the lovely Audrey Hepburn went each morning with a pastry and cup of coffee to have breakfast as she window shopped. You might add Breakfast at Tiffany’s to your movie viewing list if you’ve missed it. The song Moon River will have new meaning for you!

Josie de Guzman at The Green Room 42

September 12, 2023 No Comments

Two-time Tony Award nominee Josie de Guzman performed her show “Back Where I Started” and enthralled listeners at The Green Room 42.The enchanting and vivacious de Guzman performed a musical biopic of her remarkable stage career. She spoke of the many fellow luminaries with whom she performed and collaborated. The amazing list includes Leonard Bernstein, Nathan Lane, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Alan Jay Lerner, and Burton Lane, to name a few.

La Villeta Italian Restaurant

Sora Vernikoff
June 21, 2023
Midtown New York, Restaurant Review, Sora Vernikoff

Rating

 4.8/5

The other evening I met a friend for dinner at La Villeta Italian Restaurant in Midtown East. La Villetta (or cottage in Italian) is located at 358 East 52nd Street off First Avenue. Interestingly, La Villeta is housed in a former carriage house dating back to 1910. This unique space presently features tones of emerald green, colorful blue, red, and yellow stoneware, and exposed brick walls, which give it both an intimate as well as rustic feel. Moreover, the emerald green and dusk blue colors are reminiscent of Puglia’s stunning seas and coastline, and the region of Puglia known for its legendary yet simplistic cuisine boasting some of the finest Mediterranean cuisines!