April 25, 2008

Delightful Delovely Defoodie

Delancey Restaurant Opens

It doesn’t take all that much to put you in a New York state of mind.

A meatball parm. A cannoli. A new Italian gastropub in Hollywood.

And just like that you’re in the mood for Delancey, the newest East Coast throwback from Bowery bar and bistro owner George Abou-Daoud.

Past the custom glazed red-brick facade and vintage cast-iron windows, the antique radiators, pressed tin ceilings, exposed brick archways, and handsome oak wood bar look straight out of the West Village.

As does the menu: fried calamari; vegetable fritto misto; speck with quail egg, Taleggio, and crostini; chicken piccata; and pastas (some homemade) like spaghetti carbonara, gnocchi with pesto, and rigatoni Bolognese. For dessert, go for lemon semifreddo or classic street-fair zeppole.

Unlike at your favorite spot in the old neighborhood, there are nearly twenty wines by the glass, twenty beers on tap, and liquors pulled off the impressive back wall collection (it may have the most in the city).

Good luck trying to hail a cab.

Delancey, 5936 Sunset Boulevard, at Tamarind Street, Hollywood (323-924-2093).