My great aunt is one of the most fabulous people you could ever meet. She is well over 90, has an impressive shoe collection, could out-bake anyone I’ve ever met, and tells stories in a way that makes you feel like you lived them. She is loved by every single person that meets her. And then she got even cooler… she joined a dance class. I was honored and overjoyed to see her perform with her troupe in Battery Park City with the family one weekday night. After the show and our long Jewish goodbye, we tromped through a torrential rain storm down the block to the first restaurant we saw: Gigino Wagner Park (20 Battery Park… pretty much at the bottom tip of Manhattan).
It’s in a beautiful space on the water with a view of the Statue of Liberty, however, you’ll have to take my word for it since the rain was so dreadful that a picture was impossible.
We all ordered some delicious sounding Italian food, including gnocchi with a simple tomato sauce (their usual sauce was pepper ridden).
The gnocchi was pretty good… but I’ve definitely had better.
I had the same sauce (due to the same problem) over pappardelle. Again… good… but not great.
The rest of the family ordered items like the mushroom risotto…
And the pasta primavera.
Honestly, everything was just average. The space could have lent itself to being a gem in Manhattan, but it wasn’t really anything special. The pastas were all priced between $15 to $20, which seemed pretty over priced for food I’ve had at any run of the mill Italian restaurant for half the price. I’m curious what their brunch is like, but I wouldn’t return for dinner.
Total Nom Points: 5 out of 10
