Where To Go When You Can’t Get Into Carbone
Places that’ll help you forget the fact that you wanted to be at Carbone.
From the outside, Osteria Baiocco looks more like a sorority house than somewhere to get surprisingly great pasta - it’s a big brick building with white columns that quite possibly teleported here from Georgia. Inside, though, there are all the hallmarks of a neighborhood Italian spot: copper pans hanging on the wall, servers in white button-downs, and wine stacked to the ceiling. The space might be quirky, but the food here is straightforward and delicious. Start with the I fritti romani, a crispy little sampler platter of perfectly fried things like zucchini flowers, cod fish, and a tomato rice ball. Then move on to the fantastic pasta - the gnudi di spinaci e ricotta are delicious little spinach and ricotta dumplings and we could probably eat about 300 of them.
