Upscale Italian Gastronomy at Columbus Circle in New York City.

Marissa May and Tony May

Since 1988, Tony May’s restaurant, San Domenico NY has been drawing both international and local clientele to this upscale Italian restaurant located in the desirable Columbus Circle area across from Central Park. Tony May, who hails from Naples, Italy and resembles an Italian Michael Caine, and his daughter, Marissa May, a vivacious attractive petite blonde, are the perfect hosts as they welcome guests to their restaurant.

This modern, fine-dining restaurant features white linen tablecloths, red, blue and gold striped slip covered chairs, leather banquettes, and an attentive and jovial wait staff. The Italian ambience is furthered by a proscuitto slicer in the dining room, a sideboard laden with artisanal cheeses including a large wheel of parmigiano reggiano, a selection of olive oils, and on the top shelf, Tony May’s prized collection of special grappas.

On June 30, 2005, Edward F. Nesta and I had dinner at San Domenico, where Piero Trotta, the Wine Director began our evening with a signature San Domenico cocktail, a refreshing libation of prosecco, freshly squeezed orange juice, Campari and Cointreau, which had just the right amount of bitterness to stimulate our appetites. Our waiter, Julio, followed with their “pinzimonio” which is the old style appetizers of vegetables, except at San Domenico, instead of a celery and radish dish, the vegetables are organic and served in a silver bucket, and were a colorful mix of asparagus, baby carrots, celery and cherry tomatoes, which we were encouraged to dip in the olive oil mixed with freshly ground pepper and salt, to cleanse our palates, a bowl of large pieces of artisanal parmigiano reggiano cheese, a plate of thinly sliced prosciutto and a bowl of mixed olives. Combined with the freshly baked foccacia and breads, we could have stopped right there, but we restrained ourselves as we wanted to fully appreciate Chef Odette Fada’s cuisine.

Romeo De Gabbi, the General Manager suggested that we put ourselves in the capable hands of the chefs and let them surprise us with a tasting menu, which we readily agreed to, and were glad that we did. Supervising Chef Odette Fada and Chef de Cuisine Benny Bartolotta began our tasting with two antipasti, the first was the Insalata di Bottarga, Scalogno e Arance con Pomodorini Siciliani which was a delightful combination of sliced oranges, sliced shallots, cherry tomatoes and thinly shaved air-dried tuna roe. To complement this Southern Italian dish, Piero paired a Planeta 2004 La Segreta, a Sicilian wine, made from 50% Grecanico, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Viognier and 10% Fiano grapes, an aromatic wine which had vanilla, peaches and pear on the nose and a clean balanced taste on the palate. Piero told us that in the last 6 – 7 years that Sicilian wines have really improved, which is in part due to their better marketing of their wines. Our second antipasti was the Insalata di Pinozzini con Caviale, Erbe Cipollina e Buccia d’Arancia, which was a delicate cold pasta dish with Sturgeon caviar, chives, olive oil and orange zest, that was fabulous, especially for a warm summer evening.

Our tasting continued with three Farinacei dishes: their signature dish which has been on their menu for the past17 years the Uovo in Raviolo al Burro Nocciola Tartufato, a large homemade raviolo that was filled with a soft egg yolk, ricotta and truffle butter, that when you cut into the raviolo the egg was gently released onto the plate, the Garganelli con Fave, Pecorino e Crostini di Pane, which was homemade pasta quills with fava beans, and topped with a slice of pecorino Romano cheese, and a Risotto which Chef Odette had garnished with quail legs.

Marisa May came by and we talked about the olive oils at San Domenico NY, which are changed seasonally, and that all of the pasta is made in-house. She said that when she was a child, her father used to have her make pasta in the summer during her vacation, “because little hands make the best pasta.”

Continuing with a Pesce piatto, we enjoyed Cappesante con Salsa di Arogosta e Nidi di Verdure Croccanti, which was a seared scallop with a lobster sauce that was absolutely decadent, followed by a Carne piatto of Capretto Arrosto con Trio di Carciofi: Purea, Fritti e Alla Romana, which was tender baby roasted goat with artichokes prepared three ways: pureed, fried and steamed, paired with an Arnaldo Caprai Montefalco Rosso 2001 from Umbria made from 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagratini and 15% Merlot, which had an aromatic nose of black cherries and currants, but was quite light almost like a Beaujolais to accompany this dish. Although it did open up a bit over our next courses, it would probably be better if cellared for a little longer.

We had the opportunity to meet the chefs, Odette and Benny, who although they come from opposite ends of Italy, Odette is from the north, in Brescia near Milan, and Benny’s family is originally from Southern Italy in Sicily, they work harmoniously together in the kitchen to bring the best of Italy to New York. Each year, Odette travels to Italy for several months where she researches the latest restaurants, cooking trends and new products to incorporate into San Domenico NY. Combined with Tony May’s own travels and research, San Domenico’s guests can be assured that they can experience the best in Italian cuisine.

On November 16, 2005, San Domenico NY will host a Truffle gala in New York, followed by a trip to Piedmont for a truffle hunt. Odette said that last year “when it was white truffle season, the side board was filled with around 7 kilos of truffles, and that when she entered the restaurant she became a little dizzy with the aroma”, being a truffle lover, that it something that I would like to experience!