• 50 Carmine

  50 Carmine Street, 212-206-9134

  Red wine with spaghetti is a no-brainer; red-wine spaghetti, on the other hand, requires a degree of imagination and daring seldom seen or tasted in the cookie-cutter world of New York trattorias. Sara Jenkins, the passionate chef of Greenwich Village’s distinctive 50 Carmine, borrowed the idea for her spaghettini al vino rosso from a restaurant in Tuscany and gave it a few signature tweaks. Seemingly sauceless, the spaghettini is simmered and stirred risotto-style until it absorbs the wine’s deep-red color and flavor, which Jenkins invigorates with garlic, anchovies, a sprinkling of lemon zest, and some chilies that must be off the Scoville chart. Hot, spicy, sour, and indescribably satisfying, this dish redefines the term “red sauce.”

From the 2004 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine