There has been sort of an explosion of new restaurants in Lower East Side lately. Given the cheaper rent in the neighborhood compared to others in Manhattan and the hip vibe that constantly draws young crowds, it is not that surprising and I’ve been venturing out to LES more often recently to check out new places. Spaghetti Incident is the latest place I checked out, focusing on spaghetti pastas with other Italian staples. Overall, I was very pleased with the dishes on a recent weekend brunch.
The menu at Spaghetti Incident is rather concise. During brunch time, it consists of a handful of salads, spaghettis, egg dishes and meatball sliders. I was pleasantly surprised with the mango and avocado salad that came with arugula and scallions. It looks and tastes healthy, yet the freshness of mango and avocado was quite memorable. For spaghetti dishes, we went for chitarra dish that came with homemade mozzarella and basil in fresh chopped tomato sauce, as well as ragu Bolognese dish with traditional ground beef tomato sauce. Of the two, I was a bit more fond of the chitarra one, which is not fancy in display or particularly rich in flavor, but has that cozy home-cooking feel that would satisfy anyone who likes pastas. Ragu Bolognese could’ve spiced things up a little bit in flavor, but it was nevertheless a pretty solid dish as well. We also tried meatball sliders with arugula and shaved parmesan inside fresh buns with a side of roasted potatoes. Again, you’ve probably seen these dishes a lot elsewhere, but I really couldn’t complain as the meatball had a delightful texture and the seasoning was not overpowering for a very satisfying effect.
The restaurant doesn’t take reservations; I’m not sure how crowded this place gets during dinner time, but it was half empty during brunch time, and I had no problem getting seated immediately. There is a rather concise wine selection (they would do well to improve the quality and quantity of wine list). I really liked the cozy vibe of the relatively tiny dining space that would perhaps be an ideal first date destination. Spaghetti Incident is the type of place that won’t wow you in looks or flavor; it, however, still retains that sweet spot of Italian cooking that delivers all the time.
KenScale: 8.0/10
- Creativity: 7.5/10
- Execution: 8.0/10
- Ingredients: 7.5/10
- Flavor: 8.0/10
- Texture: 8.0/10
Address: 231 Eldridge Street, New York, NY 10002
Telephone: (646) 896-1446
Website: http://www.spaghettiincidentnyc.com/
KenScale 