Wookiee Hut Cuisine presents:
 Arte Pasta
 Greenwich Village, New York, NY
212-472-0600
 Review by SuSu, MaceVindaloo, Kimba







A friend had fallen down some steep stairs in an old, old walk-up tenement building in a fashionable area of town. She'd actually broken her neck! Who does that in this day and age?? Fortunately, her spinal cord was not affected, but she was in a hospital and on pain medication and immobilized. We went to visit, and were relieved she was okay.

Eventually, her medication had worn off and it was time for us to go. We went out onto the street and realized we hadn't eaten dinner. Like we said, it's a fashionable neighborhood and there were many bistro and trattoria type of places. We chose Arte Pasta because it was a cool night and we were all warm from being in the hospital, and they had outdoor seating on a quiet street.

We were relieved but worried, and hadn't eaten before rushing to get here, running for buses and such. So were were hungrier than we thought and since the gods had smiled on our friend, we thought we should go to a place a little bit celebratory. So we passed over the pizzeria and instead chose this cute place. With its white lights and bright coloring, it seemed happy and relieved.

The "Arte" part of the name refers to the paintings on the walls. The place serves as an informal art gallery, to expose artists to the pasta-loving public; the pieces are for sale and range from impressionism to surrealism. There is nothing rampantly radical or offensive on the walls — it is a restaurant, after all — so it's okay to bring friends and family.

They feature weekly specials. For instance, Monday and Tuesday are "Prix Fixe" and for under $15, you can get a three-course meal of appetizer, main, and dessert. Sangria is offered for $1 a glass on Sundays, and every night had $3 and $5 drinks till 7pm, if you're into Happy Hour carousing.


But we went for dinner, and enjoyed our pasta dishes. They'll make puttanesca without anchovies if you wish (unlike some restaurants which make faces at you for even asking), and they have a decent foccacia to start off the meal. The pastas were not overbearing or too large — which is often a problem at pastarias. The prices are very modest, about $12 per plate, and just right for the budget conscious foodie.

They have desserts too, but not all Italian. They did have a French-style apple tarte and a New York style cherry cheesecake. They were better than the cannoli, but to be fair, the person ordering the cannoli didn't know it wasn't stuffed with whipped cream; it's traditionally served with flavored, beaten ricotta cheese.

It was fun to watch people go by on a Friday night in the Village, and even better because we got a nice meal at a good price, and our friend was not disabled after all. Artepasta was the perfect place to celebrate such miracles.
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