My wife and I spent 10 days in New York, living a block from Pappardella, which we just came back from on our last night in NY.\r
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I was embarrassed to send back the house wine, but my wife helped me do so. I'm not a wine buff - I drink two-buck-Chuck from Trader Joe most days at home quite happily. This was undrinkable! Price: $10.\r
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I didn't say anything when the bread was quite stale. The salad was good, so my hopes went up. The waiter was very nice and asked the cook my finicky questions about the fish: Fresh or frozen? Wild or farmed? I was assured the halibut was fresh. It was frozen. My wife and I eat out every lunch and dinner when traveling, and like to try new places, and each other's dishes. When she tried it, she said ""This isn't fresh!"" The table of 3 women next to us was having a loud conversation with our waiter in Italian, which sounded like a complaint about a pasta dish. Later they talked to us in English and said their meal was awful. Their bread was stale, too. The pasta dish was 'not Italian"" and used cheap canned tomato paste with an 'acidic' flavor.\r
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I called over the manager. He told me he had no problem in comping us the meal. He turned away and then came back, picking an argument with the three women. Apropos of nothing, he said ""Sure, I comp you. You come back for a 'comp meal'. "" I said, ""I thought you just said you had ""no problem"" comping us the meal?"" He suddenly turned nasty: ""This is b****t! How'm I gonna pay for things?"" Eventually he reduced the cost of my half-eaten plate by 25%. He was smirking at us when he wished us 'good night!'. Final cost of frozen fish served only with mashed potatoes (not an Italian trademark!) = $21. \r
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I paid with my credit card, but I tipped the waiter in cash because I didn't trust the management. The waiter palmed the cash gratefully and apologized.\r
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We ate at Arte's for a lunch and a dinner. 2 blocks away - also Italian. Same price. Excellent.
Pros: Perhaps if you want only a salad!
Cons: Terrible food. The management presents a vulgar, lowlife profile. Not professional!
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