The Pint-Sized Palate

A Kid’s Take on NYC Food

Cucina Alba is Like the Best Food in Italy, for a Price

By Churchill Stone

One evening my dad announced that the family was going out to dinner with my parents’ friend and her six year old daughter. My dad told me this place might be fancy.

We arrived near the High Line. The restaurant was on the first floor of a tall building where all the windows are supposed to look like lanterns. They do not. The main room has long silver strings with rhinestones on them, big plants, and all the furniture and drapes looked very nice and warm. But that wasn’t where we sat.

They put us outside, but it wasn’t like being outside because the area was covered by clear plastic, so it felt as though we were eating inside. It was a chilly night, and the plastic cover kept out the cold air; and there were heaters, so it was warm. When you’re with a kid, they never put you at the nice tables.

Our friend told me, “I’ve spent all my summers in Italy, for ten years, and this is the best Italian restaurant I’ve ever been to.”

Then she ordered a bottle of red wine that was a year older than I am. The adults said it was really good. I tasted the “Barolo,” and it tasted horrible! In the end, we got “Shirley Temples.” They tasted a lot like lemonade with ginger ale. But they were pink.

Our friend ordered focaccia bread. The first second I put it in my mouth I told my dad, “This is the best bread I’ve ever had!” OMG, it was so delicious. Even my ten month old baby brother, Ulysses, wolfed down pieces of focaccia.

Charlemagne ordered a pasta which they made just for her, with only tomato sauce. She said her pasta was even better than the one my father makes. Cooking a tomato pasta for Charlemagne (and a special butter pasta for our friend) says that this restaurant is kid-friendly.

I had a pasta called Cacio Pepe which was rich and creamy with butter, oil, cheese, and very peppery. I loved it. Charlemagne ate her entire plate of pasta — I just barely finished mine with a lot of help from my parents.

My parents’ friend told me that Cucina Alba makes a special pizza – but only on Mondays, and we went on a Friday. By the way, alba means “dawn” or “sunrise,” so the name is actually Kitchen Sunrise, even though they are never open then.

My dad mentioned that the plates were always hot (even when no food was on them). He said most restaurants don’t do this anymore. And we had four servers — they all helped us which you definitely need with two six year olds!

My parents had Calabrian tuna tartare, kind of like sushi, and Orecchiette Arrabbiata which means “Angry Ears.” It was just a large spicy tomato pasta with burrata cheese on top. They liked it a lot. But it was $66 which my father said was expensive, even if it was for two people!

My parents also loved the lasagna, but it had no tomato sauce or any tomato at all so my sister and I did not even try it.

Then, we got the custard cake for my sister’s birthday which was warm and gooey. It was a bit grown up; pretty good, but not my ideal dessert. Next came three gelatos — raspberry, hazelnut, and brown sugar, the one I liked most. It looked like chocolate but tasted more like sweet vanilla which is my favorite flavor.

By the end of the night, I knew that this place was probably one of the best Italian restaurants I had ever been to, and trust me, I am hard to bargain with, so that just proves that the food did all the bargaining.

I knew this was a once in a lifetime experience, but most of all I knew that … this place was fancy!

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Cucina Alba, Lantern House, 511 W. 18th St.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars