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(Photo: Bobby Doherty/New York Magazine) |
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- Ribalta
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48 E. 12th St., nr. Broadway; 212-777-7781
When Scott Conant unleashed his butter-enhanced “spaghetti, tomato, basil” a few years ago, it was as if no one had ever tasted that toddler-friendly warhorse before. No one did not love it. No one except Ribalta’s Rosario Procino and Pasquale Cozzolino, two native Neapolitans with an ax to grind. Their argument: Butter and tomatoes go together like Mountain Dew and old Scotch. Their solution: a purist rendition spotlighting a variety of preserved cherry tomato of such spectacular flavor that San Marzanos cower in its presence. It’s like tasting the dish for the first time all over again.