Buttons Undone
Pants at a Glance
- scene: Summer scensters looking to take in the great outdoors and great Italian food
- sip: Well -crafted cocktails; wine
- savor: Mushroom bruschetta; grilled cheese; artichokes
- sit: With a girlfriend to catch up and share some bites; with a date after a romantic stroll on the Highline
- spend: $$
- address: 180 10th Avenue (inside the Highline Hotel courtyard)
- phone number: (212) 929-3888
- website: www.altalineanyc.com
Alta Linea, in the Highline Hotel, is is the newest restaurant from the Epicurean Group, our restaurant group crush. There are two important things to know: Alta Linea has doesn’t have a roof, and doesn’t have pasta. Just wanted to get all of that out there. Summer is for supping, sunning and scene-ing, and this is a fantastic place to do just that.
Since Alta Linea is outdoors, it is dog-friendly; however the dogs were not the only bitches we encountered- service was jarringly rude, even for a newly opened restaurant. When we were unhappy with the wine choice that our server suggested, she chatised us and criticized our subsitute cocktail selection. The cocktails, although pricey ($15), all sounded very enticing, and we were happy with our choice of Pomelo punch, which consists of either vodka or tequila, St. Germain, Aperol and grapefruit; perfect for a summer evening.
The menu is focused on sharable bites, featuring a variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, meat and cheese, etc, and only three entree sized dishes. The recommended order is 2-3 items per person. Below a breakdown of what we ate:
Crispy artichokes- the artichokes were great, crispy and not soggy, aided by the sprinkle of breadcrumbs to ensure an interesting texture.
Grilled summer beans with feta, pine nuts and mint- a bright summer dish -the beans were grilled and the feta provided an extra pop of salt.
FUNGHI MISTI BRUSCHETTA – Our favorite dish from L’artusi, but on toast! Yay more carbs! This bruschetta was AMAZING, full of flavor and interesting combinations in every bite. (See title photo.)
Borough Market Grilled Cheese – named this way bc the chef emulated how they make the grilled cheese in Borough Market in London, which basically means LOTS of butter on the bread. It was so perfectly cripsy, we are still thinking about it… details include white cheddar and gruyere cheese, scallions, red onions.
Burrata- Things get a little fuzzy here because this meal took quite some time, but we know we liked it; also, grilled bread, so yay, even more carbs!
Shishito peppers- nothing special but fun to nosh on.
Herb-roasted chicken with crispy potatoes- the chicken and potatoes have a tough act to follow given the perfect poultry and potatoes created at L’artusi, but they showed promise. The chicken was seasoned well, but the potatoes needed little extra crispiness. We will be back to re-evaluaute, because we are sure they will be phenomenal.
Bottom “line” (see what we did there?): Alta Linea is a valuable addition to not only the neighborhood but to your dining repertoire. We are confident any kinks will get worked out, and how bad can life be eating Italian food outside next to adorable mini-bulldogs?
