Becco, or Italian (mono)mania

As I said on Facebook, microblogging the New York trip, good Italian food is thin on the ground in South Florida. That's one reason B. and I went to dinner three times at the same restaurant in New York, Becco, in the Theater District, on Restaurant Row, owned by PBS celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich.

As I see it (and B. might disagree), there are four basic reasons we went to Becco so often (well, add a fifth).

First, the good food. There's nothing exotic about the dishes at Becco--the ideas for dishes are common ones, or variations thereof. Pollo al limone, for instance--a common dish, exceedingly well executed. Although our first night there, one of the pasta dishes was an exquisite semolina gnocchi, sauced with a cream sauce, then baked or broiled. Marvelous! (I must see if I can get a recipe.) The key is the execution, which at Becco was impeccable.

Second, the great prices. Becco is comparable in price to the restaurants--good ones--in South Florida. In fact, Michael's Genuine Food and Drink, a touchstone of our Miami fine eating experience, is, while excellent, comparable in quality to Becco--and probably half again as expensive.

Third, the fabulous service. Becco just takes care of its customers. An example: on our last night, Saturday, Halloween, the resaurant was quite busy. My entrée was late arriving, to the point where Marie, our waitress, at one point came by and asked if I was okay. (I was a bit restive, understandable under the circumstances.) Angelo, one of the floor managers that evening (and dressed as a quite creditable Burgess Meredith-era Penguin), without asking me, noticed my restiveness and inquired with the chef about the status of my entrée. He then came over--again, this was without being prompted--and told me that my entrée would be ready in a few minutes--which it was. Excellent.

A fourth reason dovetails (Dovetonsils?) with the above reasons. As those of you who know me well know, my father went to medical school at the University of Bologna (Italy), and my mother lived there with him for a time. My mom was a good cook before she went there, and when she came back, she had been schooled in the dark arts of Northern Italian cuisine. (Bolognaise lasagna has, I believe, two different sauces: Bolognaise ragú and what can best be described as a Bechamel sauce on steroids.) As a result, I know a little bit about Italian food, good Italian food. Becco delivers on this. The semolina gnocchi were a standout, but all their pasta, even the dishes we didn'tlike so much, were well executed. All the entrées we ordered were first-rate. My salmon filet the second night was on a bed of braised cauliflower so good that I ordered a side order--and we ate it all--with my hanger steak the third night. And I don't even like cauliflower. As our waitress Marie said, Becco is very good at making tasty vegetables (another dark art).

The fifth reason is simple: when dinnertime rolled around, B. and I were (I trow) so exhausted that picking a restaurant became a chore.

Well, picking Becco for dinner was never a chore. Becco has my highest recommendation.