Thank you to everyone who gave to our GoFundMe campaign to raise an MLK billboard over the Neo-Confederate memorial in Orange, Texas in time for MLK Day (January 15) and Black History Month (February). We have reached our $2k goal! Thank you for your support and solidarity!

One of the biggest surprises of my 2023 was how the NYC cityscape has changed since the closures of 2020.

Today, there are whole stretches of Broadway in the 20s where there are now trendy shops, cafés, and restaurants in an area previously reserved for schmatta and toy wholesalers.

And the Upper Westside, once a fine dining wasteland, now bubbles over with hipster concepts with al fresco seating.

It should have come as no surprise when my colleagues proposed a dinner at the amazing Lucciola on Amsterdam and 90th (three blocks from where I used to live back in the day).

I was blown away by Chef Michele Massari’s cooking. His work embodies the seemingly oxymoronic but overarching ethos of the greatest Italian cuisine: for it to be classic, it must be creative.

The tortellini in the photo above were a study in the many gradations of texture in Parmigiano Reggiano when handled by an expert like Chef Michele. But that was one of the more conservative dishes that evening.

Don’t miss the “AAA pinsa,” a savory flatbread topped with blue fin tuna bottarga, red tuna belly, Cetara anchovies, and caviar. It’s one of the restaurant’s signature dishes and it’s incredible.

Also memorable was this tuna, shrimp, and caviar appetizer, below, which I believe was a special.

I’m nonplussed as to why this restaurant isn’t on more people’s radar. I got the impression that Chef Massari and his team are doing such brisk business that they don’t invest much effort in media. In Italy, he’s already a superstar.

It’s not a cheap date but worth every penny. Fantastic Italian-focused wine list as well, with a compact but unforgettable Champagne offering.

My recommendation: run don’t walk!