New Talent At L'Impero, Tudor City's Sleek Blue Gem

By Susan Whitney Simm

The only thing that makes regulars at a Manhattan restaurant more nervous than seeing a new maitre d' in the dining room is hearing about a new chef in the kitchen. But based on a recent visit to L'Impero, a sophisticated Italian on a charming Tudor City street, the regulars can breathe easy. In fact, they can rejoice.

The cheekily-named L'Impero, or "The Empire," has been owned and operated by three partners since opening in 2002. Among the trio is the designer Vicente Wolf, who received the Outsanding Design award in 2003 from the James Beard Foundation for the restaurant's design. The opening chef was Scott Conant, who came aboard after making a name for himself at City Eatery and Chianti. But Conant has recently moved east - way east - to Sag Harbor's Tutto Il Giorno (see review in the Sunday, July 29 New York Times), and L'Impero has added a new executive chef/partner to its staff, Michael White. Formerly in the kitchen at SoHo's Fiamma, where he earned three stars from the New York Times and one from Michelin, White now brings his way with artisanal pasta, braised game and truffles happily to bear on a sleek stage that perfectly underscores the rustic elegance of his dishes.

First, the stage. Blue, a shade that conjures the Mediterranean, starts over the door in the awning, continues dramatically into the bar and ends on the dining room chairs, a shade lighter now, as though one were approaching shore. There is fabric everywhere: velvet on banquettes, linen on walls, plush carpet underfoot. All of this padding, aside from cocooning one away from the city outside, makes conversation surprisingly easy given the proximity of some tables. It also prepares one for the comforting fare to come.

The menu, which will evolve slightly over the course of the summer as the new chef gets his bearings, is currently biased toward fresh summer ingredients, such as local fennel, basil, peas, corn and field greens.

Starters include a simple mesclun salad, made sprightly by crisp fennel and a Moscato vinaigrette, and the highly recommended Pancetta alla Griglia - grilled fresh porkbelly with figs, Sardinian honey and pungent wild arugula. There is also a grilled octopus with celery hearts and olives, and a tempting salt cod fritter, though the latter is offered with Manilla clams. It always strikes me as odd when chefs opt for such exotic, foreign ingredients when fabulously fresh versions, such as local hardshell clams, are literally out the back door. Pasta here is worth the visit alone. Try the orecchiette with pork sausage and broccoli rabe pesto, or the creamy gnocchi with prosciutto and peas (and, unannounced but always welcome, white truffle oil). The masterpiece is the Paccheri di Gragnano al Ragu Napoletano, made with artisanal pasta, Neapolitan pork shoulder ragu, and grated cacciocavallo. It is one of the best pasta dishes we ever tasted.

Fish is well represented in the entrees, as one would expect, with braised halibut, roasted monkfish, and red snapper on tap. But on this visit we chose the grilled aged strip steak with "corn crema," sweet and sour baby peppers and rosemary salt. It was the slightest bit salty, but this was offset by the wonderfully creamy fresh corn. Also sampled was the fork-tender, pasture-fed loin of lamb with chard, oven roasted tomatoes and salsa verde. Both entrees would satisfy most carnivores.

The service at L'Impero is polished and attentive without being intrusive, and the $64 prix fixe, up from $48 when the restaurant opened in 2002, is still a good buy comprised of four generous courses. You won't leave hungry, but you will be back if Chef White's updated take on comfort food is any indication.

L'Impero is located at 45 Tudor City Place, between First and Second Avenues at 42nd Street. Open Monday-Saturday. Call 212-599-5045 for hours. Following this article is a short review of L'Impero's wine list, which is overseen by Sommelier James Hamilton, with recommendations by wine writer Chris Miller.

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