Almost eight years after it opened, Don Angie remains one of the toughest reservations to score in New York, and that’s because no one’s doing Italian-American food the way Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli do it.
The culinary power couple had worked at restaurants across the city and developed the menu at Quality Italian prior to opening Don Angie in the West Village in 2017. The restaurant was a breakout hit, earning a two-star New York Times review, a spot on Esquire’s Best New Restaurants list, multiple James Beard nominations, and endless online chatter about its viral lasagna and how to get in.
Angie and Scott built on that buzz and opened San Sabino seven years later, just a few doors down from Don Angie. The couple named the seafood restaurant after Scott’s grandfather—who is from Sanza, Italy—and have created a wildly imaginative menu that’s influenced by Italian immigrants who settled all along the East Coast from New Orleans to the Jersey Shore.
And while there’s no doubt about the couple’s mastery over Italian cooking, it’s their willingness to break from tradition that’s made Don Angie and San Sabino essential New York dining destinations; it’s why New Yorkers just can’t get enough. “Our cooking is kind of like Italian-American grandma food, but if your grandma was 30—different and young,” Scott says. You’ll see that not just in the pinwheel lasagna, but across the menu at both restaurants.
Read on for the must-order dishes and drinks at Don Angie and San Sabino, and then go try them by booking a seat on OpenTable.
What not to miss at Don Angie
Before we get to that lasagna, you should know that every piece of pasta at both Don Angie and San Sabino is made by hand by four dedicated pasta makers. The same attention goes to the ingredients—that means only things like D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes and 120-day Pecorino Toscano make the cut. That’s what takes every dish on the menu to the next level.
The story behind the internet’s favorite lasagna
The pinwheel lasagna is peak Don Angie and its inspiration is more American than you might think—it takes after cinnamon rolls. The pork, veal, and sausage-studded bolognese is layered alongside a classic Italian bechamel, mozzarella cheese, and dollops of robiolina cheese—instead of ricotta—for a lighter touch. But it’s the rolling instead of stacking method that really makes it stand out. “It’s a lot easier to share, less messy, and texturally perfect because you get the crispy edges on the top and the soft bottom on each portion,” Angie says.
When Caesar salad takes an international trip
Riffing on a Caesar, this salad subs romaine lettuce with chrysanthemum greens, an ingredient Angie and Scott first discovered while living above Yunnan Kitchen on the Lower East Side. The addition of sesame breadcrumbs and a generous shaving of Parmesan makes it familiar and unexpected at the same time.
A honeymoon favorite becomes a menu mainstay
Inspired by their honeymoon in Trieste, Italy, Angie and Scott created a caraway-seeded and breaded veal cutlet that’s influenced by the Tyrolean cuisine of that region. Their version is topped with Austrian-inspired liptauer cheese, Italian smoked speck ham, pickled mustard seeds, and horseradish.
San Sabino’s must-trys
“Our regulars have referred to San Sabino as the Don Angie beach house,” Angie says, and that’ll become super apparent when you look at the playful dishes and drinks on the menu.
A childhood favorite reimagined as a gluten-free star
Japanese and Italian flavors come together seamlessly in this spicy tuna crudo with broken arancini. It sits on a bed of charred scallion and pickled broccoli rabe crema that’s a nod to the broccoli rabe Angie and Scott ate growing up. Plus, the dish is gluten free as the arancini are breaded in Taiwanese rice cakes instead of breadcrumbs.
Garlic bread in a glass
Vodka infused with toasted garlic, chiles, oregano, breadcrumbs, olive oil, and butter makes this martini feel like having garlic bread in a glass. The restaurant mixes in a spicy cherry pepper brine and tops it with feta and hot cherry pepper-stuffed olives.
A margarita with an Italian Soul
San Sabino was once home to West Village institution Benny’s Burritos and this Mexican and Italian margarita is a celebration of that history. Angie’s grandfather loved prickly pears—a popular ingredient from his birthplace of Sicily—so that’s part of this drink along with chiles, lemon leaf, and an Italian bergamot liqueur. You’ll drink it from a modern cactus glass from Milan that nods to margarita glasses at Mexican restaurants.
“Nothing we do is traditional whatsoever,” Angie says. “I think our food is more American than Italian. We take liberties with ingredients and are inspired by food that we like to eat.”
Alexis Benveniste is a big fan of Persian food, sushi, and finding hidden gems she can recommend to her friends. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The MICHELIN Guide, Bloomberg, and New York Magazine. You can find her on Instagram at @apbenven.
