Zagat: I Trulli Makes Fresh Pasta With Mother's Love
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The Murray Hill Italian eatery I Trulli relies on a mother's love to serve up fresh pasta and other artisanal dishes. NY1's Anthony Pascale filed the following report.I Trulli
122 East 27th Street
1-212-481-7372
www.itrulli.com
From southern Italy to New York City, the cuisine of Puglia has made its way to Murray Hill via the Marzovilla family, which has been serving up seafood, vegetables, beans and, of course, pasta since 1994.
I Trulli owner Nicola Marzovilla was inspired by the cooking of his childhood, so who better to help run the Zagat-rated ristorante and enoteca than his own mother, Dora.
"Some of my best memories growing up were at the table," says Nicola Marzovilla.
"When he said, 'I'm going to open a restaurant,' I said, 'Okay, I'll come to make pasta with you,'" says pasta maker Dora Marzovilla.
"You know when your mother asks you, it's not really asking. Eighteen years later, we're still here and it's been fun," says Nicola Marzovilla.
Zagat surveyors say the rustic spot with a lush garden and superb wine boasts "i truley fantastico" track record, with Dora's handmade pasta rolled out right in the dining room for all to see, along with executive chef Patti Jackson's mix of Italian ingredients and local greenmarket goods.
"We can constantly mine the traditions to find new ideas that work for us, that work here in New York in 2011, using fresh ingredients and old-world techniques and doing things pretty much from scratch," says Jackson. "Everything we do, from the bread and the focaccia to the breadsticks and the torrelli and the sausages. We have the nonna [grandmother] who comes in everyday and makes pasta for us, so we have really beautiful, artisanal food."
"Everybody in Italy always makes the pasta in house," says Dora Marzovilla.
"The idea of seeing it start with basic ingredients and seeing it being made, there's an attachment there," says Nicola Marzovilla. "We're pretty lucky to have someone who can bring so much culture to what we do."
"It's wonderful to work in a family environment like this," says Jackson. "It's like being part of a big, extended Italian family. There's a lot of love."
Out of a possible rating of 30, I Trulli receives 23 for food and 21 for both decor and service. A meal there will cost around $60.