Gotta Have Soul

In Spanish, the word "alma" means soul, which is exactly what Alma 33 has; an Argentinean soul with an Italian heart. Although Alma 33 is an Argentinean restaurant and the owner Rich Lusardi is a first generation American of Argentine descent; it's still impossible to deny the Italian influence present in Argentinean cooking, especially when you hire Florentine Chef Enrico Primarti to be in charge of the cuisine. Like almost all Latin American countries, Argentina is a Spanish culture, but the climax of Italian immigration after World War II changed some of the flavor and tastes of the cuisine forever. Enrico Primarti capitalizes on this and makes the food his own, with a Fiorentino flair, integrating the ebb and flow of the Italian culinary culture into Argentinean classics.

My experience at Alma 33 began with an uncomplicated drink menu providing all the staple cocktails. Alma offers both a wine and tapas experience as well as a full dinner menu. The wine list isn't pages long like other New York restaurants. It's simple and thoughtful, consisting of vintage options from Spain, Italy, and of course Argentina. Like both the Italian and Latin American cultures, no matter if you choose the tapas or the full menu, your experience is one that should be enjoyed. The servers and owners make it a point of giving Alma an inviting, warm ambiance where you can sit and leisurely enjoy the wine and food in front of you.

Like being in Florence, the first thing that was brought out was crusty bread with a small bowl of olive oil. For the rest of the meal, I placed myself in the hands of the chef, who was determined to have me try as much of the menu as I physically could. The meal started out with the tapas samplings and ended with full entrees and a variety of mind blowing desserts. It was most definitely a culinary journey that left me exhausted from so much food and wine ingestion.

Relaxing in the front of the restaurant at the tall tables surrounding the bar, I began with the tapas menu. I was given a cheese and meat plate typical of a traditional antipasto with olives. The plate was sizable; the cheeses came from Spain and the prosciutto and salami were clearly Italian. Then came out the sardines on top of a flat bread covered in a beautiful green pistachio pesto. Afterwards, I was treated to my favorite tapas choice: an Argentinean twist on an American favorite. I had a jamon (ham) and cheese surrounded by thin fried bread drizzled with a delicious mayo combination. It melted in my mouth and like the other plates, paired wonderfully with my temporanillo wine.

The pasta dishes were probably the most complex of the meal, utilizing flavor and texture in such a way that it was hard to determine what exactly was used to create each unique sauce. Each dish reflected the Tuscan influence, emphasizing different fruits and vegetables in the sauce instead of using tomato. The first dish was ravioli stuffed with pulled, braised beef sitting in a sweet puré of red beats combined with pear. The sauce was a beautiful cranberry color, and earned its sweetness from the pear. On top of the ravioli was a light cheese sauce that created a beautiful combination. The second dish was gnocchi bathed in red wine layered in a thick fennel sauce. The sauce on its own was mouthwatering and like the previous sauce, it was very hard to determine on my own what its composition was.

Although there was clearly vision and creativity needed to make every dish, Chef Enrico who enthusiastically came out to describe each course, explained that everything was dependent on the fresh quality of the food, "If it's not bought fresh, the meal is just not going to be good." I took Enrico's word for that, and understood what he meant upon trying the Branzino served with a salad glazed in a tangerine dressing. The branzino was fresh and full of flavor even though it had absolutely no sauce or marinade on it. The simplicity of the dish was what made it spectacular and very memorable. I then tried his version of scallops topped with half of a shrimp. The crunchy shrimp sitting on the soft scallop made for a terrific combination of taste.

Throughout the entire meal, I was constantly urged to leave room for dessert. Although Chef Enrico is not the quintessential pastry chef, his desserts are creative, colorful, and fresh. My eyes lit up as an array of treats were set out in front of me along with a fantastic espresso cocktail created by Rich Lusardi. Choices ranged from a flourless chocolate cake combined with a citrus zest to a pionono sponge cake covered in red wine marinated strawberries. It was a perfect way to end the meal, and if you don't think you'd be able to handle everything I tried, checking out Alma 33 for wine and dessert is well worth the trip too.

— Written by Valerie Cario

Photo credit: Zandy Mangold

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