Donatella

This was the BEST Strawberry Shortcake I have ever eaten!  By a landslide.  Donatella's post will be reversed starting with the magnificent desserts.  The seasonal strawberry shortcake was a soft, non-biscuit (no taste of butter) biscuit with a hard, sugary top.  In the middle?  Homemade whipped cream and sweet strawberries with an ever so tiny scoop of strawberry rhubarb sorbet.  P.e.r.f.e.c.t.i.o.n! 

I was equally impressed with the off-the-menu ice cream sandwiches.  Smaller than your palm, these round beauties' top and bottom layers were Italian tricolore cookies with slivers of ganache.  Some of diners thought it was too sweet, but I didn't share that sentiment.

Affogato is always a simple dessert with a small scoop of vanilla gelato.  These "biscotti" were actually small cookies (ones I did deem sweet, but fabulous nonetheless).

Moving right along to the pizzas....also some of the best personal pizzas I've had in New York.  Doughy, thin-crust with fresh ingredients. 

Classic Margarita

Diavola with spicy, slivered salami and chili oil.  This pizza had the perfect amount of heat.

Enzo - Smoked Mozzarella, pork-fennel sausage, broccoli rabe and pecorino.  Instead of plain jane spicy or sweet sausage,  I absolutely love the fennel sausage in addition to the sauteed rabe.  This was unreal!

Polpette - Veal Meatballs and Caciocavallo (a teardrop cheese that is left to mature 'a cavallo' i.e. straddling a horizontal stick) 

A ricotta gnocchi that gives April Bloomfield a run for her money.  Served with summer corn, basalmic, parmagiano, and chives.

A luscious mixed green salad with lemon citronette, candied walnuts and pecorino.

Our starter of spicy, braised veal meatballs.  Soft, perfectly spiced and sized.  If you are deciding between Polpette (meatball pizza) or a side of meatballs, get the meatballs.  The pizza doesn't do these meatballs justice.

AND you have to love the bottle and wine glass chandeliers!