Finally made it to Ci Siamo, another ambitious gamble by Danny Meyer. The name means something along the lines of “Here we are” which is fitting because even with the address at hand, you have to spend a few minutes looking for it. Even my GPS went, “Ahhm, I’ll just drop you off in the vicinity. Good luck”. It is inside one of our newest swanky developments called Manhattan West, right opposite to Hudson Yards. Manhattan West is the official declaration that our real estate developments ran out of names.
While there’s no shortage of all kinds of Italian in the city, its lacking in the vicinity of CI Siamo. Just like Thai in Hell’s Kitchen, this part of Chelsea has a strange concentration of some of our best Spanish… Mercado Little Spain, Tía Pol, Txikito, Salinas, just to name a few. Perhaps the Basque Cheesecake on the menu at Ci Siamo is a community peace offering.
Ci Siamo is Italian for grown ups. For a refreshing change, we were in the middle of the pack age wise this time, as opposed to looking like chaperons. And we are only in our late 40’s (55 to be exact). You know you are in a mature place where they replace each plate, fork and knife after each course, and you dont feel bad about it. The service is efficient but not stuffy.
The three main courses are summarized pretty well by the title. This post is not so much to deter but help you plan accordingly as I do still recommend Ci Siamo. Starting with the good, the house signature Cast Iron Focaccia is light and delicious but one of the most expensive breads I’ve seen ($17). It comes with a velvety tomato sauce for dipping. Pair it with the top notch Prosciutto, most likely of the San Daniele variety.
Moving on to the great. The pastas at Ci Siamo rank with some of the best of them. The boozy, wide ribbon Stracci with slow cooked Rabbit is superb. The rest even better. The Roman classic Pasta alla Gricia isnt as widely available in NYC as its sisters Carbonara and Cacio e pepe, but it should be. Here you have a perfect blend of Rigatoni with Guanciale, cheese and Black Pepper, with each ingredient slow dancing in your mouth. But the show stopper is undoubtedly the Cavatelli Allo Scoglio, bean like Cavateili with crab and chili. For an Italian, they are not shy with the peppery stuff. But should be more shy with the salt…
Salt is usually used liberally with pastas in Italian cooking, but at Ci Siamo it was more prevalent with the Secondis. The first few bites of the Pork Milanese, and the braised mushrooms that came with the well cooked Rib eye were fine, but then the salt took over. A one time thing? According to Google reviews, “Salty” is mentioned over 30 times. I guess Ci Siamo management disagrees.
Back to the good, dont sleep on the vegetables and beans portion of the menu. The carrots are outstanding. Amazing how some dill brightens a dish. The braised beans we enjoyed with the mains is another winner. In a way this menu reminds me of Via Carota. The pricy salty mains put a small damper on the meal, but you can have a fine, full, and much cheaper meal without the mains.
If it didnt say it on the menu, I wouldnt know that the Cheesecake is Basque, as there was not much burnt flavor that I recall. Get it still, along with the dark chocolate based Torta Calabrese. And if you are not splurging on the wine, try the Daylight Savings drink – vodka, rabarbaro, blood orange, cocchi rosa. Like a Negroni/Paloma love child. After the meal, see the new foot on the High Line.
Ci Siamo
440 W 33rd St (Chelsea/Hudson Yards)
Recommended Dishes: Focaccia, Prosciutto, Stracci with Rabbit, Rigatoni alla Gricia, Cavatelli Allo Scoglio, carrots, braised beans, cheesecake, Torta Calabrese
Eating With Ziggy 