In my series, "The Best Menu Items At...," I cut the fluff and get straight down to business: Which food/drink items are so stand-out that I'd order them time and time again?

Restaurant: Lucciola
Cuisine: Italian (Bologna region)
Location: 621 Amsterdam Avenue - Manhattan 10024

Located just about as far north as I'm willing to venture on a "school night," Lucciola is the Upper West Side's newest (less than one-month old) Italian with a full bar and a hip, European vibe.    

While I will refrain from getting too detailed on the slow (albeit friendly) service this early in the game, I will give you a few tips should you wish to visit Lucciola in its infancy:

• Have at least two hours of time to kill on your calendar. Think molasses, folks! Slow. As. Molasses.

• Patience is a virtue.

• If you have specific menu questions, sometimes it helps to ask more than one employee. The correct answer may not be the first one you hear!

Are you freaked out yet?  Don't be. 

Let's not get it twisted: I knew EXACTLY what I was walking in to by dining at Lucciola on its fourth night in business.  And I dragged two of my most sophisticated girlfriends along!  Then why, you ask, would I set myself up for an evening of choppy service so far away from home?  Because the lasagna is, quite literally, to die for.  And every bit destination-worthy.  That's why.  Having attended the restaurant's pre-opening "tasting" event, I fell in love with the homemade pasta and could not return soon enough.

Y'all know that I have been around the block and back.  A few times.  And this is, hands down and by far the best fricking lasagna on the map (at least the map of the United States).  First of all, the pasta noodles are MUCH more delicate and thin (as compared to the dry, pre-packaged crap you buy at the grocery store); second, you can literally taste the amount of 'simmer-hours' that went in to the Bolognese sauce which seductively envelopes each savory layer; lastly, the cheese is virtually molten in texture, not dry and clumpy like commercial ricotta.  In summary: Lucciola's lasagna is transporting and positively life-altering. 

...and if it's still on the menu (not sure of the seasonality/menu changes since I was last there), do NOT miss the Pumpkin & Gorgonzola Gnocchi.  It's yet another one of Lucciola's 'must order' dishes.

…

Until we eat again, 

Lindsay, The Lunch Belle