Salumeria Rosi

During my stay in New York, I probably had my best meals at Salumeria Rosi. And as is often the case with the best things in life, we found it rather unexpectedly. I was walking around the Upper West Side with one of my friends when we chanced upon it and started reading the menu posted outside the restaurant. My friend had a feeling it would be a place worth visiting so we came back a little while later and sat down to a delectable meal - one of three during my short stay in New York.

I love how Salumeria Rosi works, basically, you order several dishes -- they recommend between three and five for a party of two -- and they're served as soon as they're ready in a tapas-sized portion.

Even the bread was fresh and delicious.



We started with a bean and fresh herb crostini which I quite enjoyed.



Then came what was perhaps the best dish I had during my entire stay in the city: the most delicious gnocchi I ever had! It's actually a very simple dish, gnocchi, pecorino cheese, basil and a simple tomato sauce, but somehow everything was cooked to perfection and you could feel the individual flavors of each ingredient in the dish.



While my go-to dish at Salumeria was the gnocchi, my friend's was definitely the pasta amatriciana -- and I have to say it was equally delicious! Perfectly cooked al dente pasta, topped with a hearty meat sauce and pecorino cheese, this restaurant is definitely doing something right.



On my third visit, I finally decided to try something different, so I went with the lasagna, and I absolutely loved it. Another winner at Salumeria!



Could a restaurant call itself a salumeria if it didn't serve a fine selection of Italian meats? On our final visit, we ordered their selezione del salumiere and frankly even though I am not traditionally a fan of that kind of thing, I have to say, these meats were so fresh and flavorful, I enjoyed every morsel that came my way!

The GVA Foodie Goes to New York!

Well my dear friends, all work and no play makes the GVA Foodie a dull girl, so I decided to take some time off and enjoy a few days in one of the world's most iconic destinations: New York City. Now it's fun to be in New York for numerous reasons and you know food is definitely one of them! So if you stick around, I'll be posting individual reviews of the different places I visited and the different eats I definitely enjoyed!

I hadn't been to New York in a while, so you know, a couple of stops by Dunkin' were inevitable. Not something you should be eating every day, but if your last visit was several years ago, maybe having a few doughnuts here and there isn't all that bad...?



This isn't going to make me sound very young, but there was a time in the '80s/'90s when you could pretty much walk into any pizza by the slice joint in NYC and enjoy something vaguely resembling an authentic New York style pizza. Those days seem long gone, and now a little research may be required to locate the places that still make these gems.



A trip to New York City without stopping by its very own Katz Deli for a pastrami on rye? No way!



Levain's Bakery on the Upper West Side makes the most sinfully delicious cookies. I can't wait to post my review!



Rice gelato at Macy's Stella restaurant... wait, rice gelato? I am sooooooo in! Hope this delectable treat makes its way here someday soon.



Magnolia Bakery is known for its wonderful cupcakes, not to mention its famous banana pudding. Guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth!



New York is also home to many burger joints with sides of onion rings on many a menu.



Manhattan will also serve up some of the most exquisite Italian food in the world. Fresh ingredients, Mediterranean flavors and a great atmosphere to boot... how can you go wrong?



But maybe Chinese food is what you were craving? I loved these scallion pancakes and wish they'd make that kind of thing here more often.



More deli sandwiches in NYC -- corned beef on a roll that particular night.



Shake Shack has many locations around the city, and they know their way around a burger, fries or even a hot dog if that's what you fancy!





So please stay tuned, I will be posting a number of reviews in the next couple of weeks, and I hope you'll enjoy them.

Mac & Cheese Recipe by Chef Michael Symon

Made this for dinner last night with a couple of minor variations. It was really good... I mean you can't go wrong with macaroni and cheese and sometimes you just have to indulge a little, am I right?

Capocaccia Acacias Soon Closing?

I hear Capocaccia's location in Acacias won't be around much longer. The restaurant's managers will apparently be shutting it down in the very near future. It's too bad, it was the perfect spot to stop for a quick meal if you happened to be around the neighborhood. The food was decent and fairly inexpensive.

I was able to enjoy Capocaccia's pesto pasta on a couple of occasions:

CNN's World's 50 best foods

Not exactly recent but definitely worth a mention, CNN got users to vote on the world's 50 best foods a couple of years ago. Some of the results may be a little surprising, but I can definitely get on board with a list that includes cheeseburgers, fettucini alfredo, maple syrup, fajitas, pizza, fried chicken, fried rice, fish 'n' chips, gelato, dim sum and pad thai among others!

Check it out:
Your pick: World's 50 best foods

Another Trip to Ponte Vecchio

I've reviewed Ponte Vecchio on this blog before. It is a good, unpretentious Italian restaurant similar to many decent pizzerias around the city. However it's neither hip nor especially modern. But boy, when they serve up a plate of gnocchi gorgonzola, it is something of a magical experience, they manage to get the texture of the gnocchi just right, and the gorgonzola sauce is that perfect balance of creaminess and bite.

Luigia

Does Luigia still need an introduction? If you live in Geneva, enjoy Italian food and going out for a meal every now and then, you're probably familiar with Luigia and its delicious pizzas. But the restaurant also knows how to whip up a pasta dish, and with new additions to the menu on a regular basis, it's certainly worth giving Luigia a third (or is it a fourth?) mention on this blog.

Pictured below: salmon linguine at Luigia's.
 

Capocaccia Acacias

In addition to its Confédération Centre restaurant/bar, Capocaccia recently opened a new location in Acacias. The restaurant boasts an extensive menu of daily specials, salads, sandwiches and numerous snacks.

Pictured below: a slice of pizza in teglia (a thick crust pizza, sort of like a Sicilian slice), a bresaola salad and a pesto pasta dish.

L'Amalfi - I heart you!

OK so Geneva's restaurant scene, as it turns out, offers a lot - and I mean a lot - of mediocre food. But say what you will, there are a few restaurants in this city that will treat your taste buds with the love and respect they truly deserve. After a few visits to L'Amalfi this past fall, I've come to believe it is one such place. And I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a hearty dish of pasta or risotto. I'm only sorry they're going to be closed for the next 10 days, I would have loved to schedule a couple of my holiday meals there.

Located in the hospital neighborhood (between Plainpalais and Champel) l'Amalfi is unique in that it specializes both in Italian and Argentinian fare, but truth be told, so far I've only tasted their Italian dishes. I'm told their Argentinian meats are just as good though. I love their octopus salad starter which I've ordered a few times now. You can make your own dressing with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar bottles you'll find on your table. The octopus is served warm and with a few slices of chili peppers, the salad packs just a little bit of heat. The combination of flavors and textures just makes this dish a winner in my opinion. If you enjoy seafood and especially octopus, I would definitely recommend this as a starter.

The pasta and risotto dishes are so good that I wonder if I'll ever try the Argentinian specialties at l'Amalfi. The chianti and sausage spaghetti is as unexpected as it is delicious, and frankly, I could probably just keep ordering it every time I go back, but it would be unfortunate to miss out on the delectable risotto experience the restaurant offers. And the sausage and Provola risotto is the kind of dish that will keep one warm and satisfied during Geneva's long, cold winters.

Pictured below: an octopus salad starter, followed by chianti sausage pasta and sausage and Provola risotto.

Luigia - a couple of new dishes added to the menu

Well what can I say, Luigia has pretty much been my favorite restaurant since it first opened its doors in 2010. They've recently added a few new dishes to their menu and they are certainly worth checking out - I would especially recommend the sausage and eggplant paccheri.

Pictured below: a four-cheese gnocchi dish, sausage and eggplant paccheri and a cheesecake.

Pasta d'Oro

Some restaurants look fairly nondescript from the outside, places you probably wouldn't really think of visiting if someone didn't take you or if you didn't read a good review. Pasta d'Oro looks like a very ordinary Italian restaurant from the outside, but apparently it's quite popular with a lot of Genevans. A friend of mine recently suggested we meet there for dinner, and I quite enjoyed my meal. It's probably not one of those places I'd want to go to every other week, but I definitely thought it was worth checking out.

Pictured below: gnocchi gorgonzola

Different yet authentic

Do you like Bolognese sauce? Do you order it when you go to Italian restaurants? If you do, chances are you're not getting an authentic Bolognese experience, what you are getting is probably spaghetti drowned in a meat sauce. The authentic recipe, on the other hand calls for much less sauce so the pasta remains the true star of the dish and a wider pasta than spaghetti such as tagliatelle because it does a better job holding on to the sauce.

One restaurant that does tend to respect tradition and serves an authentic bolognese is Luigia -- and yes, those of you who've read some of my previous posts will probably know that I'm quite partial to that particular establishment. And I have to say, their bolognese is yet another dish I am quite fond of even though I do order it with spaghetti -- big no-no...

Pictured below: Luigia's spaghetti bolognese.



According to Wikipedia, the authentic recipe calls for the following ingredients:

• 300 g beef cartella (thin beef skirt)
• 150 g pancetta, dried
• 50 g carrot
• 50 g celery stalk
• 50 g onion
• 5 spoons tomato sauce or 20 g triple tomato puree
• 1 cup (250 mL) whole milk
• Half cup of still, dry white or dry red wine
• Salt and pepper, to taste

The milk definitely gives it great taste and texture and makes it a much richer dish than we typically get when we order bolognese on a night out in Geneva.

Cittadella

It would seem that small side streets that you could easily miss if you didn't chance upon them are often home to some of the finest restaurants. Indeed, Cittadella, a tiny Italian restaurant located in such a street in the Old Town is an absolute gem! While the food does tend to be on the expensive side, it is simply delicious, definitely worth trying at least once. They seem to make their own bread, which is always a good sign in my book, and the gnocchi is easily the best I've had in Geneva.

Pictured below: a wonderful scallop and grilled vegetable starter, fresh-baked bread and a shrimp pesto gnocchi dish.

Il Mirto

Il Mirto is an Italian restaurant located in Eaux-Vives. It's a little fancier than your typical Italian fare and in fact, the restaurant doesn't even serve pizza. Instead, it offers a unique selection of appetizers and various pasta, meat and fish dishes.

I definitely enjoyed their food and the atmosphere and would gladly go back.

Pictured below: Burrata and grilled vegetables followed by a squid and artichoke starter, a crayfish pasta dish and finally a scrumptious panna cotta dish.

Forno a Legna - penne du patron

There is something about combining eggplant, pasta, marinara and ricotta that makes for a unique, incredibly palate-pleasing experience.

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio is an Italian restaurant located in Plainpalais. Their food is good, the staff is friendly and their menu boasts a number of pizzas, pasta dishes as well as many other house specialties. The pasta is pretty amazing, and while this is clearly no Luigia, even the pizza is quite good. Definitely worth a visit!

Pictured below: Penne Carbonara, Tortellini alla Pana, Pizza Margherita, Tagliatelle al Gorgonzola and Gnocchi al Gorgonzola.

Tilleuls

In my experience in Geneva, the best restaurants are often simple, unpretentious and not necessarily located in the hippest parts of town. That is all true of Les Tilleuls, a pizzeria located in Charmilles. It is a rather large restaurant but it is simply decorated -- though it boasts a very nice terrace in the summer. The restaurant's staff is friendly and welcoming, and the food is quite tasty. Definitely worthy of a repeat visit.

Pictured below: Tilleul's penne vodka.

Incontro

Penne siciliana is undoubtedly Incontro's signature dish, and while I quite enjoy it, I've always been partial to their linguine agli scampi so I was rather disappointed when they switched to penne as their pasta of choice for that particular dish, I'm not entirely sure what prompted the decision, but it makes a huge difference both in taste and in texture, and the dish just doesn't work as well with penne as far as I'm concerned though to be fair it's still pretty good... I guess. They still make a decent pizza though.

Pictured below: penne agli scampi and a mushroom pizza