I went for a friend’s birthday dinner at Giuseppe & Sons this past March. Now, when I know I'm going to Giuseppe & Sons, I dress accordingly: my “eating” jeans and not a tight top. Sorry birthday dinner, but looking cute is 2nd to me when I know I'm leaving the restaurant with a food baby after. That's how I feel about Giuseppe & Sons. I WANT THE WHOLE MENU! Like yes, I’ve gone on dates there and kept it cool, but when I want to pig out on the most amazing Italian food, we're going to Giuseppe’s. Anyways, reservation at 6:30, uber down into the city ready to eat. When you walk in, you travel down these stairs leading you to a dim lit hallway to walk through. So right off the bat, vibes: through the roof. This restaurant is a basement level dining room that feels romantic, and slightly dramatic in the best way. Old school yet elevated Italian, if that makes sense. We got seated quickly, the staff there is so efficient. We immediately locked in on the menu, even though we frequent there, and had the most amazing attentive waitress guiding us with help. When scanning the menu, the rigatoni vodka was obviously a legal obligation. Found what we were looking for, ordered it, with no further questions.
The Dish
The rigatoni vodka dish at Giuseppe & Sons is quite literally to me a binding contract between me and comfort food. The sauce is creamy, intentionally creamy, not heavy-handed. There is a clear perfect balance of noodle to sauce. Clear boundaries here. But what stood out to me the most was the kick. The perfect spicy kick. It wasn't aggressive, it wasn't overwhelming, but it was there. It was just enough to keep things interesting. Like a subtle objection that proves the case. It cut through the creaminess of the sauce which was building an extremely strong case for itself which made me keep coming back for more. Now for the noodle, perfect. A short mezzi type rigatoni (my fav). The mezzi is short and structured and does exactly what it needs to do. This type of noodle made every bite consistent, and not too much. The portion size was totally fair. If you know me to my core, I love to split a dish. This dish is completely splittable. But it's also the type of dish where ya you could share… but do I want to? No. You want it all for yourself actually. I simply just love Giuseppe’s take on this dish because similar to Vita’s, it gets straight to the point. There are no unnecessary add ons, no one is over complicating it. It's noodles. And sauce. When your sauce is THAT good, it's simple to pull off. A perfectly executed rigatoni vodka dish.
The Verdict
Giuseppe & Sons delivers on all counts: ambiance, execution, and a rigatoni vodka that holds up under cross-examination. It’s the kind of place you go when you want to feel a little elevated but still stuff your face and eat like your life depends on it. Would I order the same dish again? Sustained. My all time favorite. An 11/10 if you will. Case Closed.