Last night in New York City, my friend Dave and I enjoyed dinner at the latest iteration of Piccola Cucina by Executive Chef Philip Guardione, Piccola Cucina Estiatorio, at 75 Thompson Street. Guardione has three locations within a few feet of each other in SoHo, and at Estiatorio, he incorporates sensibilities from Greek cuisine into the strong Sicilian foundation already established at his other two restaurants.

I’m not a restaurant critic, but I love to eat! And certainly, I know Sicilian cuisine. Guardione, who was cooking in the open kitchen last night, served up fantastic grilled sardines, mouthwatering wild boar meatballs (the mushroom sauce was the star here), and remarkable pasta with sardines (my favorite, so of course, I had to have it). The bucatini pasta was perfectly al dente, finished in the oven to ensure the bread crumbs added the crisp edge they are supposed to. We finished with freshly stuffed cannoli in very crispy shells, as they should be!

Buonissimo! I’m glad to have another Sicilian destination close to home.