NYC Italian Eats: The New Guard

Esca

This temple of seafood is part of the Batali-Bastianich empire, though everyone would agree that its success is owed mainly to fisherman-chef Dave Pasternack. The chef's knowledge of and dedication to the freshest of fish is legendary; the restaurant is inspired by the cooking of the Mediterranean coast. Esca single-handedly brought the concept of crudo to New York kitchens, making sushi acceptable alongside pasta and steak. The crudo tasting here is one of New York's most sublime piscine pleasures, where a lowly sea urchin, served raw and in its spindly shell, becomes the essence of the ocean in a single swallow.

Esca
402 W. 43rd St. at Ninth Ave.
212-564-7272