Amo Seafood is the name of a new restaurant from Chef Pasquale Cozzolino and Rosario Procino, the owners of Ribalta, one of New York’s best pizzerias. Both men are originally from Naples and they share a passion for the foods of that Italian region. Most of the seafood at Amo is locally sourced, but some specialties, such as the Red Shrimp from Mazara del Vallo in Sicily are imported.
To start, the chef sent us each a crispy little croquette made with branzino, topped with a dab of mango puree. It was irresistible and I could have eaten several more.
Michele and I shared an order of Octopus Luciana 2.0, the chef’s modern take on a classic Neapolitan dish of octopus in a spicy tomato sauce. This version consisted of a crispy octopus tentacle surrounded by Datterini tomato puree, crumbled black Sicilian olives, and parsley puree.
We also shared the Focaccia di Mare, a puffy round of focaccia topped with imported bufala milk stracciatella cheese, Cantabrico anchovies, and Datterini tomatoes and basil.
Pasta alla Nerano was made with homemade busiati pasta topped with crispy zucchini chips, zucchini puree, and a “cloud” of Provolone del Monaco cheese crowned with a raw Red Shrimp from Mazara Del Vallo in Sicily.
Granseola was a dramatic plate of squared spaghettoni with Italian spider crab in a slightly spicy Datterini tomato sauce. It was fantastic. One of the best pasta dishes I have had.
The wine list at Amo Seafood is well chosen and has some of my favorite white wines. When I saw this wine from the Donnachiara Winery in Campania, I just had to order it.
Greco di Tufo “Aletheia” 2021, DOCG 100% Greco di Tufo Donnachiara Only the best grapes from the Santa Paolina vineyard in the Tufa zone are used. The harvest is by hand during the coolest parts of the day, the second half of October. The soil is tuffaceous and the training system is guyot. Cryomaceration is at 42-46F to preserve the aroma, prevent oxidation and enhance the characteristics of the grapes. There is a soft pressing of the grapes using a pneumatic press and fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks for about 15 days. The fermented must is left to age on the lees for about a year with weekly batonnage. Malolactic fermentation does not take place. The wine remains in the bottle for a period of time before release. This is an intense wine with hints of citrus fruit, pear, apricot and a hint of hazelnuts and pineapple.
The desserts looked delicious, but we decided to end the meal with some very good espresso.
Rosario Procino has good reason to smile. Amo Seafood is sure to be a hit!
The restaurant is located at 115 East 12th Street, NY, NY 212-871-6877. It is open for dinner only starting at 5:00 PM.