Supper — Restaurant in New York

Mothers and Wives

Last night I had dinner at Supper. It was delicious and nice, and all the things an end-of-summer East-Village-Italian cash-only 6:30-dinner should be -Al fresco and paid for by my mother. It began with two salads starring summer tomatoes, “tomato salad” and “avocado salad.” The less you do to a tomato at this time of year the better, and Supper displayed the restraint one might hope for. Salad 1: A drizzle of oil and drop of balsamic, salt, pepper, fresh basil, all made for that delightful moment when you mind’s fantasy matches reality. The avocado salad, an exercise in deconstruction, exceeded. The well ripened slices of avocado, deep red perspiring tomato slices, a golden pile of fleetingly seasoned sweet corn, and some crunchy shavings of pale romaine, were presented as elements to be ratioed and consumed. A fennel salad accompanied but failed to achieve the almost-transcendence of its salad course mates, at least for me. My wife, with whom I shared a chicken parm and spaghetti- quite good-, and my mother, spaghetti limone (did not taste but is her Supper go to for whatever that’s worth), raved about it, exclaiming “I just love fennel, don’t you?” to which I answered silently. No. All was well in the land of Supper, until I asked for a re-up on the bread so that I could sop up my chicken parm plate trails. I was throw into a quiet despair when- instead of the crusty fluffy Filone which inhabited the first bread basket- I found myself staring at some rather unattractive poorly sliced pieces of baguette, whose relative staleness would not relent even after coming into contact with the oily reddish streams of flavor left over from the chicken parm. After a brief moment of panic- where I thought my tote, “has been lost forever!”- that was mercifully relieved when I discovered it hiding beneath my mother’s sweater on the back of her chair, the meal took a turn for the better when we ordered 2 espressos, “none for me Daniel, I’ll be up all night” and a slice of tiramisu. The tiramisu, a presence across Frank Prisinzano’s East Village empire, is a brush with consistent perfection. Each bite of this ethereal cloud of sugar cream, espresso, cake, and cocoa powder is of the great pleasure, no matter how full one might be. It is a bite I would not forgo even if a real or perceived, lactose intolerance would inevitably force me to pay the porcelain price. Upsetting, but not devastating, was the delayed arrival of our espressos until after the Tiramisu had been ravaged, my wife lacking the self-control to wait until the coffee had arrived, triggered another panic where I was convinced that if I hesitated to consume even for a moment, I would be left with a crumb of cream and cocoa dust to which she would direct my attention and proclaim that in a true act of altruism she had saved the last bite for me. Panics and the mediocre service aside, the meal was more than fine, with nice flavors and company and atmosphere, Supper is a consistently good meal for anyone who carries cash and enjoys the interpretation of American Italian cuisine through fresh ingredients, and a...

Went again 4 more times. Wonderful each time. Best pasta and mussels in town. 3-2-2022 UPDATE: ONCE AGAIN SIMPLY THE BEST. MUSSELS IN GREAT TOMATO SAUCE, TOASTED BREAD WITH WHOLE GARLICS ROASTED ON TOP, BEST PASTA AND TOMATO SAUCE WE HAVE EVER HAD AND FUN CHOCOLATE SUNDAY (SEE VIDEO ATTACHED). ALWAYS WONDERFUL --- WOW One of the best Italian meals we have had since being in Italy. The pasta is fantastic. Firm and the tomato sauce is very bright and yummy. We highly recommend the Pomodoro E Basitico sauce and be sure to get it with the Stracciatella Mozzarella on top. This is an excellent combination of flavors. We like a thicker pasta so we substituted in the pasta from the "Priest Stranglers" dish instead of spaghetti noodles. The noodles from the Priest Stranglers are long thick tubes about 4 inches each and they are a great texture with lots of pasta flavor. That was a great choice. All pasta is made fresh daily. We sat in a booth back by the kitchen and could see how it is all made and set up to be served. They have a great attention to detail and it came out perfect. For apps we had the buffalo cheese and tomatoes which was very creamy and good. Also had the bread with cooked garlic on it. Very good. We had an order of clams as well which was awesome. Be sure to use your bread to dip in the clam drippings. One of the best flavors you will find. Desserts are all homemade. We were so full we had to spilt a chocolate hazelnut panna cotta. They served it with drizzled chocolate. Super Yummy. This place has no sign so be sure you know the address. You need to email them to get a reservation and it is CASH ONLY. This is a spectacular place, loud and lots of fun. It has our highest recommendation. UPDATE ON 9-30 SATURDAY BRUNCH WAS AWESOME. BEST PANCAKES WE HAVE EVER HAD, THIN BUT CRUNCH AND SWEET. VERY GOOD MAPLE SYRUP AS WELL. WE HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE BEST PANCAKES IN NYC AND THIS IS #1 FOR SURE!!!! Check out all of our reviews. If we do not like it we do no review it so all of the ones you see are places that are fantastic. Follow us if you like. We had over 36 million views so far this year and we thank you for that. We don't get paid, we just love to eat. Be sure to click on "RobH" at the top of this review to see all of them and to follow us if you like good food and FUN. If we do a review it is...

My best friend & I have been patrons of Supper since '99. I've many great memories of the place: on a personal level (met Drew Barrymore there, hung out w The Strokes, first dates, etc.), & on a dining level (fell in love w grilled polenta, lamb ragu, etc.). Also, became good friends w staff over the years (David [stellar waiter], Cat [@ the adjacent bar], etc.). Thus, IT'S W GREAT SADNESS & DISAPPOINTMENT that I write this review of a classic NYC spot that has let itself go. Our experience last night (1/27/23) was one of the worst in recent memory. We had a 6:30p reservation & arrived early. Instead of a table, we were squeezed in a corner @ the bar though there were several 2-tops free, which we were told were reserved. Apparently our reservation didn't rise to the level of qualifying for a table. We placed our orders: bruschetta, grilled polenta & 2 pappardelle w lamb ragu. Polenta was fine. Bruschetta was sub-par @ best. The bread wasn't fully grilled, so it became quickly saturated w the tomato juice such that it degenerated into a crater consisting of globs of peeled tomato & bread mush buttressed by a semi-charred crust, the whole of which couldn't be picked up or maneuvered. The pappardelle arrived steaming hot. Unfortunately, it was overcooked & thus, reminiscent of the mush that had preceded it. Plus, bc served in a bowl, it continued to cook & perhaps bc it was hastily prep'd, there were random gnocchi included. I exchanged mine for the butternut squash agnolotti. It came 40min later, while two parties @ the bar came & went. Not only was it clearly not prioritized, but it was left to sit until the agnolotti around the perimeter were cold and those in the center were tepid, and such that a unsightly, dimple-laden, skin-like film had formed atop the sauce (I have pictures; feel free to message me) & it included some random kale gnocchi (?). In sum, I feel bad for the younger generation of Supper-goers who clearly missed out on an NYC staple in its heyday.

UPDATE: despite the reply to this review from Supper, they never...