Linguine al Pesto e Clams

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
February 21, 2007

CAFFE FALAI
265 Lafayette St
(Prince & Spring Sts)
New York, NY 10012
212-274-8615

Caffe Falai is ideally situated on Lafayette between Prince and Spring, slightly separated from its sister restaurant (Falai) and bakery (Falai Panetteria) on Clinton Street. The decor resonates as modern and fashionable, subtle yet eye-catching, even though the dominant color palette is white. Though there’s no street sign shouting out to let passer-bys know that it’s a Falai establishment, pedestrians walking by invariably do double-takes, intrigued by the pretty interior and the crowd of BP’s (beautiful people) on display.

There’s a brunch menu that’s served until late afternoon but my main attraction to Caffe Falai are its pastas, being the carb girl that I am.

For lunch, to cleanse my system a little, I ordered a salad, in addition to two pastas: the potato tortelli with Bolognese ragu and the linguine al pesto e clams. I love how the menu is laced with a mix of Italian and English at will, Italiglish! Cynthia and I tend to communicate in a mix of languages as well and rather than a bastardization of tradition, I prefer to think that it’s modernization and evolution. Anyway, back to the pastas: YUUUMMMMMMY!

One of my absolute favorite pasta dishes is linguine with clams. As you may know, I am always on the prowl for a perfected linguine with clams, and in the City I can only cite two restaurants that serve my favorites: Celeste and Babbo. Well, here comes the third, at Caffe Falai. The linguine is so fresh that when it’s cooked it doesn’t have the hardness of dried pastas al dente. Instead, the fresh pasta has a springy quality (like fresh ramen) and soaks in the mouthwatering pesto sauce. The little clams are also fresh and clean – sandy clams are a major pet peeve of mine – and the rich flavor of clam juice a nice accompaniment to the pasta and pesto.

The potato tortelli was also delicious! The homemade tortelli skin is thin and the potato filling inside is so fine it’s like a purée. The ragu is also minced and ground so smooth that it’s more like a mash. I have to say, while it’s scrumptious, I prefer when meat sauce is not so delicate. In this case, the texture of the potato inside the tortelli and the ragu outside is too similar. I’m not asking for course ground meat, but something slightly less silky would give it more contrast. I think what I’ve just said must be blasphemous to the Falai cooking philosophy, as they tend to stress refinement and delicacy. This is not a complaint though, just a thought. The dish is good and I’d go back for more.

Open from 7 am to 8 pm, The Caffe sells Falai breads and baked goods at the front counter to stay or to go. It’s waiting for its liquor license so the kitchen currently closes early at 8pm. Even without alcohol, for the time being, it’s a great little café and hangout for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Also in Italian, NoLIta, Pasta