SAUCE
Situated on the corner of Rivington and Allen, it took me five-and-a-half years to get to Sauce. I feel entirely sheepish. It's a cool, low key, shabby chic Italian joint—I'm talking serving utensil chandeliers and vintage floral wallpaper. With crazy awesome deals like seven dollar vats of homemade pasta before seven o’clock in the evening, it's a place to easily put on your list of restaurants to become a regular at.
Shaded by their awning, I sat comfortably on my little distressed wooden slatted yellow folding chair at a wooden table for two. Enjoying my dry glass of prosecco in the glow of the sun setting through the lower buildings at the bottom of the city, my girlfriend and I sat with one of the restaurant's partners Alex Glen (you're remembering that name from my recent article about COCO & CRU where he is the marketing director). He brought out this great tool comprised of two wooden frames linked together with wires, much like a loom but with metal instead of string, and explained how pressing the pasta dough through the wires is how they both cut the pasta and delineate a serving size. With the pasta now cut, it is ready to cook, be mixed up with their killer sauces, put in a bowl and then served to always happy to eat people like myself.
The beauty of Sauce Restaurant is that they take classic Italian dishes and then execute them so perfectly that they feel super special. Their Cacio e Pepe is outstanding, get it! The combination of their perfectly textured pasta combined with the pecorino romano and cracked pepper is extremely addicting. I found myself smothering each bite of pasta in the extra sauce that culminated at the bottom of the bowl. Oh my god. You will love! Other traditional dishes like the bruschetta are a must. The crushed tomato and fresh basil served on their homemade bread surprised me. I definitely went into eating it thinking, ok, a classic bruschetta, how am I going to be impressed. Then wow! Like the Cacio e Pepe, the flavors were incredibly on point. This was the trend with every single dish put in front of us. If you’re looking for Italian food, this is the place on the Lower East Side for you!
