SAATCHI EATS is a casual insider’s guide to cool food finds around the neighborhood. This week – Italian deliciousness from Cantina Corsino.
Cantina Corsino (a semi-quick walk down Hudson Street) offers a variety of tasty Italian cuisine lunch option, with a bit of a fun twist. Portion sizes of each dish ordered were great; not too filling but filling enough that you don’t have to venture to the Atrium for a bag of chips at 4:00.
The lunch menu, while perhaps a bit short on variety, boasts a wide variety of Panini options, all of which are simple yet delectable. The must have dish from the H/H team’s lunch as definitely the fried brussel sprouts. An unusual and surprising pairing yes, but an amazingly tasty (and crunchy) starter to lunch. Along with the interesting vegetable starter, we had two crostinis – ricotta & orange and oliver tampenade. The waitress suggested these as there were a lot of options, and of course, they were great suggestions. They were gone pretty quickly.
The ½ Panini, soup or salad (choice of two) option was the popular main meal option for our lunch – the arugula salad with candied walnuts or the white bean soup with faro was the perfect match to the toasted prosciutto and sweet onion paninis.
Word of advice: don’t be scared to try the cold, red sauce served with the paninis in a small little bowl. Although we’re not exactly sure what it is per se (picture an cold tomato bisque), it served as a great dip for our toasted sandwiches.
Final Verdict: Cantina Corsino is a perfect lunch spot if you’re looking to hike a bit outside the standard Saatchi lunch area (or spend a few bucks on a short cab ride). If you wait for warmer weather, it’s certainly worth a try.
