Mozzarella, gelato, served with Italy in a hot chocolate cup
Carol Cain, NYCity Mama, 12.09.10
Gian Luca Giovanetti, part owner of Timi's Gelateria Classica, and the force behind East Village favorites Gnocco and Perbacco, recalls falling in love with food around the age of 4 from his mother. "The thing with food is that no matter what you do it has to be about the tradition. Even if you experiment... the ingredients that make it a favorite traditional dish have to remain," he says. "If you are working with ingredients for a dish that is over a hundred years old, it is pretty much perfect at that point... Honor the tradition, that is what I do."
Owners as Hosts Still Alive in the East Village
Keith Beavers, Near Say, 12.09.10
"...The good ole days of the host being the 'owner' and hanging out in the dining room to talk to the customers... This idea of the owner as the host is alive and well in the East Village... across the street and down from my little joint (Il Vino Winebar) the owners of Perbacco can be found walking around."
Perbacco Owner Serves His Grandmother's Polenta
Matt Duckor, NBC Feast, 12.07.10
Perbacco owner Gian Luca describes what makes his Italian grandmother's polenta so special... "...It was my childhood. This particular version is from Valtellina, which is a valley North of Lombardy. When I was a kid, my Grandmother used to make a batch of polenta, slowly turning it for an hour..."
Timi's Gelateria Classica Italiana
Laura Grasso, Woman Around Town, 11.24.10
"Part-owner Gian Luca Giovanetti (of equally avant-garde Perbacco and others) is here near-constantly, running on passion and the fruits of the Gelateria's LavAzza cafe. He was kind enough to take the time to give my friend and me a tour, treat us to quite a few tastes, and provide a bit of background on the art and science of gelato making. Overflowing with ideas..."
Perbacco: Italian for "Wow"
Kazuko Nagao, PecoPeco, 11.22.10
Away from the hustle and bustle of the East Village, this Italian restaurant hideaway is nestled in a residential area. With a friendly atmosphere and warm brick interior, you can enjoy food and wine and conversation with patrons in a gathering space that feels like home. [ Translation from original review in Japanese. ]
One Great Plate: Carbonara at Perbacco
Linnea Covington, New York Press, 11.18.10
"It's an avantgarde interpretation," said Francesco Nuccitelli, the manager of Perbacco, where this creation is offered. "The chef wanted to reproduce the taste of the traditional dish." The traditional dish being spaghetti alla carbonara...
Best Dessert That Could Be a Meal: Créme Brulee di Parmigiano Peggiano
Adam Rathe, New York Press, Best of Manhattan Issue, 10.28.10
"Perhaps most stunning is the créme brulee di Parmigiano Reggiano, an appetizer that pretends to be a dessert that actually tastes like a savory meal."
New Restaurant And Bar Radar
Jon Del Signore, Gothamist, 10.22.10
"Newly opened Timi's Gelateria Classica Italiana plans to take artisanal gelato to the next level. The owners, who also own Gnocco, Perbacco, and Cafe Pick Me Up, are bringing the chain already in Italy, China, Mexico, and Romania to the US."
Ciao Bella: The Top 5 Italian Restaurants in NYC
Sabrina Chapman, Haute Living, 10.22.10
"For a playful and experimental evening of Italian delights and a wine list that will make you wonder if Bacchus is in the cellar, it's Perbacco in the East Village..."
First Look at Timi's Gelateria
Daniel Maurer, Grub Street, 10.18.10
"Gian Luca Giovanetti of Perbacco, Gnocco, and Café Pick Me Up has brought Timi's Gelateria Classica Italiana to St. Marks Place. This first U.S. location is a combination gelato shop, mozzarella bar, and Lavazza café."
Dessert of the Day: Perbacco's Sweet Hamburger Slider
Joanna Weinstein, Behind the Burner, 10.04.10
"A dish that screams originality at its finest, these blissful bite-size burgers consist of homemade tiramisu squished between a sweet sponge cake bun topped with sesame seeds."
Um Italiano Inesquecível
Jackie Cantore, Carlota, 10.02.10
"Não é a toa que o que mais se escuta no restaurante são aquelas expressões impronunciáveis de quem está saboreando um banquete dos deuses... 'mmmm' ou 'wow' é pouco!! Ou seja, nada se compara ao Perbacco!"
New York Corner: Perbacco
Chris Mariani, Virtual Gourmet, 10.01.10
"I left the ordering in the hands of general manager Francesco Lucitelli, who will be found throughout the evening stopping by tables and educating his guests on exactly what they are eating, where the ingredients come from, and the history behind each dish."
Best New York Restaurants
David Farley, AOL Travel, 9.24.10
"This rustic-looking off-the-radar restaurant in the East Village is like a laboratory of deliciousness for Italian-born chef, formerly top toque at two-Michelin-starred Osteria Fracescana in Modena. Simone Bonelli plays with seemingly disparate tastes and textures in a fun way, flirting with molecular gastronomy, but usually leaving the dishes still recognizable. But do these 'experiments' pay off? Certissimo!"
Parmesan Crème Brûlée
Danielle Margulies, Supermarket Guru (MSNBC), 9.23.10
'Perbacco' translates to 'wow' in Italian, which may just be the most used word in Perbacco's dining room — if you are in New York, stop by for some culinary surprises... as Frank Bruni described in his two-star New York Times review in 2008, "This humble setting in the far East Village is a trove of surprises, of dishes that don't duplicate anything anywhere else in Manhattan."
New York Go... Eat: Perbacco
Peter Koch, GO AirTran, 9.15.10
"The traditional rustic décor—exposed brick walls and rough-cut dark wood furniture— at this tiny East Village osteria belies the experimentation that’s happening in the kitchen. Young chef Simone Bonelli takes traditional Northern Italian fare and turns it on its head."
Unusual (But Good) Dinner at Perbacco
Dara Pollack, Skinny Pig, 9.10.10
"Well this was a first. I've had Northern Italian, I've had Southern Italian, but I've never had Weird Italian... but weird can be surprisingly refreshing. This kind of sums up my experience at Perbacco last night... I'd definitely come back - it was a nice date place and the food, collectively, was pretty solid. Was it a little weird? Yes, but I like weird. And weird knows no better home than New York City."
Eat Cetera
Jaya Saxena, Gothamist, 9.7.10
"The 'Pesche e Vino' is a twist on sangria, and combines red wines with local peaches for a summery treat. The drink will be a complimentary gift to brunch diners every Saturday and Sunday through the end of September. We think it'd taste good alongside their french toast with caramelized pine nuts, mixed berries and coconut gelato."
Perbacco's Free Pesche e Vino at Brunch
Bao Ong, Strong Buzz, 9.2.10
"Perbacco's latest brunch treat is an Italian end-of-summer specialty, 'pesche e vino.' Made from the freshest seasonal stone fruit—local peaches—soaked and served a blend of Perbacco's selected red wines, it's a traditional (but little known) twist on sangria to help celebrate what's left of our long, sunny days."
Featured weekend brunch special: Pesche e Vino
Daniel Maurer, Grub Street, 8.27.10
Q & A with Perbacco's Chef Simone Boneli
Danyelle Freeman, Restaurant Girl, 7.30.10
Most chefs dream of becoming a chef in New York, but not Simone Bonelli who grew up in Modena, Italy. "I had never been to New York City, and I never really wanted to come either," Bonelli says. But when the owners of Perbacco asked him to head up the kitchen at their East Village enoteca, Bonelli couldn't pass up the opportunity to strut his culinary talents abroad...
New Wave Italian Surprises and Wows at Perbacco
Jay Walman, Walman Report/Culinary Gourmet/1010Wins Radio, 7.29.10
"In these days of cookie-cutter Italian and over-hyped pretentious and disappointing impostors, Perbacco is a paragon of authenticity, invention and purity."
Pasta Carbonara (video)
Rebecca Millman, Better TV, 7.26.10
Perbacco in NYC shows us how to make a great deconstructed Carbonara.
Parmesan Brulee (video)
Rebecca Millman, Better TV, 7.26.10
The chef from Perbacco joins us to show us a new twist on an old favorite.
Perbacco—Happy Food Shock in a Lively Place
Laura Grasso, Woman Around Town, 7.26.10
"The cuisine is as inspiring as it is filling; visit for the dishes that are as thought-provoking as they are tasty, challenging the way New Yorkers think about Italian food. I loved Perbacco for handily balancing fine dining, a casual, comfortable air, culinary mad-science, and the traditionally delicious."
Perbacco celebrates the black summer truffle season
Jay Walman, Walman Report/Culinary Gourmet/1010Wins Radio, 7.22.10
"In Rome, popular belief has it that truffles are a divine fruit—the byproduct of Jove's thunderbolt—and it's not hard to see why..."
Happy date at East Village Italian restaurant Perbacco
Calla Salinger, NY Post/Meet Market, 7.18.10
"We were talking so much that we forgot to order off the menu, which was fine because Perbacco took it upon themselves to treat us to a six-course meal!"
Perbacco's Black Truffle Special
John Del Signore, Gothamist, 7.9.10
"Sweet and quirky as Executive Chef Simone Bonelli's creations are wont to be, the Uova Asparagi e Tartufi combines eggs, shallots, asparagus and truffles in varying forms..."
A New Wave Of Italian Surprises At Perbacco
Jonathan Campbell, Art Now Magazine, 7.9.10
"Its name translates to 'wow' in Italian, which may just be the most used word in Perbacco’s dining room, where classic Italian ingredients are playfully spun on their axes and made anew."
Black Truffle Celebration!
Ali Calamari, Shecky's, 7.8.10
"There's no question these decadent mushrooms are worth their weight in gold... Fortunately the folks over at Perbacco are offering us a taste of the tartuffi at a price we can afford."
Hot Plates: Summer Truffle Celebration at Perbacco
Alexis Loinaz, Metromix, 7.7.10
"...Three-course meal that celebrates the season's earthiest bounty, wish dishes like tagliolini pasta sautéed with black summer truffle sauce and burrata cheese cream..."
4th of July
Alexis Loinaz, Metromix, 7.2.10
"Perbacco has great pasta, but it is best known in the neighborhood for its antipasti selection..."
A tiny house of exactness
Syl Tang, Hip Guide, 6.30.10
"...This Italian spot is run on tight execution. A filet of beef with Parmesan mousseline and chips, balsamic vinegar reduction, and arugola pesto is perfectly medium rare. Homemade Kamut wheat tagliolini in EVO oil, cherry tomato, black olives and garlic sauce, in basil pesto topped with ricotta salata, is perfectly al dente. Perfectly."
Dealfeed: Perbacco's black summer truffle special
Amanda Kludt, Eater, 6.29.10
Good Tips at the End of His Meals
Frank Bruni, New York Times, 8.26.09
In NY Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni's last article, he notes that Perbacco is one of his favorite overlooked Italian restaurants. "...The dishes that blend the avant-garde and traditional Italian cooking make a trip here very, very worth it."
When a Trattoria Goes Avant-Garde
Frank Bruni, New York Times, 8.20.08
"...It wasn't just the crush of diners that struck me. It was the attention they seemed to pay to their food. It was the particular energy coursing through the dark-wooded, softly lighted room..."
A New Twist on Italian (video)
New York Times, 8.19.08
Modern Italian Prodigy Cooking Quietly in the East Village
New York Magazine, 7.28.08
At Perbacco, Simone Bonelli is producing some of the most elegant and progressive Italian food in the city. "My cooking is about traditional Italian ingredients and tastes and techniques. But I just want to change things, mix them up," he says...
Italian for Everyone
New York Times, 8.18.04
The easy warmth that lets a mixed crowd happily coexist sets Perbacco apart from the neighborhood's other casual Italian restaurants with brick walls and wobbly wood tables. But it has something else most of the others do not — food much better than you would expect for the price...
