Black Oak Nights – New York

Meatballs. Spaghetti. Pizza. Shrimp scampi. Tiramisu. Steak Pizzaiola. Now that’s amore! With all of the possible Italian food selections available to you in New York City, where is a young black professional to go for the best meatball in all of Manhattan?

Rest assure, Black Oak Nights: NYC has you covered. We have compiled a list of some of the most delectable Italian restaurants in the New York City area. We’ve got you covered all the way from amore to ziti!

Barbuto

775 Washington Street, New York, NY 10014

Don’t let the dining area fool you. Because even though Barbuto is located in a converted warehouse and garage, its food is especially marvelous. And its concrete floors, lighting and folding garage doors give this place a relaxed, lower east side club type of feeling. Understand this though; the food compliments the atmosphere well, because it as stimulating and inspiring as Italian food can be. Go to Barbuto with a large group of your friends or coworkers and be sure to order as many dishes as you can in order to take advantage of the entire Italian-style eating experience. Check out the octopus, pork shank, scallops and the pollo al forno. All great family portioned dishes at family style prices!

Spigolo

1561 2^nd Avenue, New York, NY 10028

Welcome to the Upper East Side, where Italian food is abundant at so many different restaurants. With such a great array Italian family favorites, it is no surprise that the lead chefs at Spigolo are husband and wife. Their delectable menu and dishes are extremely creative. From the salmon tartare to the braised octopus crostini, Spigolo provides its customers with a different treat for every taste bud. And as if the food and family atmosphere were not enough reason to take a cab to the Upper East Side, than how about the fact that you can still get a serving of braised escarole and roasted monkfish medallions up until 2 o’clock in the morning? Now that’s late night the Italian way!

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria

19 Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201-1322

Located right by Water Street, Grimaldi’s can be found right beside the Brooklyn Bridge. So for those of you who don’t like to leave Manhattan, this is a close as you can be to the main island without swimming in the water. The atmosphere is perfect for the perfect Italian experience. It is a very relaxed and chatty environment where everyone from friends, family, co-workers and lovers go to. You’ll think you’re sitting in Italian restaurant from “Everybody Loves Raymond,” as you dine on checkerboard-print tablecloths with pictures of Italian idols surrounding you. But it is the food that gets people to make the trek to Kings County. They serve a wonderful pizza (and only pizza) with crisp, thin crust and the most authentic pizza sauce in New York. You can get any topping that you want, and with their homemade mozzarella and house-roasted peppers, you can’t beat the authentic flavor of these bona fide Italian pies. I’ll admit that the service is not their best feature, but nonetheless, if you don’t mind spending a little time there, it’s worth the wait.

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