Review preview: Carmine's on Penn

I love the dizzying pace at which restaurants open in this city, bringing us new culinary visions and new gastronomic possibilities from new (and sometimes not-so-new) chefs. But there are times when nothing beats a good old neighborhood joint, a place that's settled into its surroundings over the years, an...

By Laura Shunk

March 1, 2011

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I love the dizzying pace at which restaurants open in this city, bringing us new culinary visions and new gastronomic possibilities from new (and sometimes not-so-new) chefs. But there are times when nothing beats a good old neighborhood joint, a place that's settled into its surroundings over the years, an eatery that caters to a regular clientele with a familiar menu and remains a nostalgic constant in the whirlwind of change.

I was craving constancy -- as well as dinner -- a few weeks ago, so I headed to a spot that over the last fifteen years has build a reputation as a solid neighborhood joint: Carmine's on Penn.

Over the course of several evenings, I ate my way through the chalkboard menu of Italian classics, which includes big servings of minestrone, veal marsala and spaghetti marinara. And I do big: Each dish at Carmine's feeds at least four adults.

But is bigger always better? After a decade and a half, is Carmine's still a neighborhood joint you'd love to find in your neighborhood? Find out tomorrow when the review is posted here.

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Laura Shunk was Westword's restaurant critic from 2010 to 2012; she's also been food editor at the Village Voice and a dining columnist in Beijing. Her toughest assignment had her drinking ten martinis and eating ten Caesar salads over the course of 48 hours. She still drinks martinis, but remains lukewarm on Caesar salads.

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