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Shifting Brooklyn a little to the left is quite a feat. So
what do we call successfully hijacking a piece of Florence to
West Broadway? Sanctuary. Pepolino is the rapturous
invention of two self-effacing men whose smiles make Ricky
Martin seem aloof and who could make a good living teaching
charm seminars at the Learning Annex. Enzo Pezone and
Patrizio Siddu are veterans of Il Cabrao, the restaurant in
Florence most likely to take your mind off Michelangelo's
David's butt. But unlike most of their Euro-born
restaurateuring neighbors, they opened Pepolino not as a home
base for their fabulousness but as a place where anyone can
experience their almost blindsiding generosity. Go ahead.
Hit Pepolino after your worst day. By the third spoonful
of their joyously pleasing pappa al pomodoro, you don't stand a
chance. In two cozy, unpretentious rooms, you'll derive
startling satisfaction from pastas as basic as sausage-and-arugula;
the pleasing hominess of a mussel terrine or chicken sauteed
with pears and pecorino; the luxuriance of rustic dishes like
lamb stuffed with artichoke, and sea bass in an olive crust; and
the absolute surprise of delicious desserts in an Italian
trattoria
But best of all, it's a delight to meet these two lovely,
ingenuous men. Pepolino feels smaller than a child's wave.
So don't scare them away. Descend on them slowly. It
would be nice if they stayed long enough to think of themselves
at natives. |
