There are countless restaurants that serve pasta in New York, however Egg should shine when it makes its New York debut at NoMad on Thursday, May 28.
“We don’t compare ourselves to other restaurants because we are very different in what we do and we are very specific about what we do,” Uovo chef Germano Minin told the Observer. “We do this thing every day. We’re super fans. We’re only focused on pasta.”
Minin manages Uovo’s food in Los Angeles (where the restaurant has five locations) and New York. Uovo also has a kitchen, led by chef Pino Mastrangelo and pasta maker Stefania Randi, in Bologna.
Minin doesn’t mince the word “unique” when describing Uovo’s process. Uovo, which opened its first location in Santa Monica in 2017, serves pasta that is handmade in Bologna and shipped in a temperature-controlled container to the United States.
Uovo also sources Italian ingredients such as Basilicata tomatoes and 24-month-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. With a menu that includes Bolognese, Amatriciana, cacio e pepe, carbonara, arrabbiata and vongole made from time-honored recipes, Uovo’s goal is to be no less than most Italian restaurants you can find outside of Italy.
“I work on the floor and talk to people almost every day,” Uovo partner Christian Bertolini tells the Observer. “I’m at Uovo six days a week, and I’ve been doing this since we opened. I can tell you that I see a lot of Italians come in, and they all end up being regulars. And the comments they make are about how good the pasta is like the best places in Italy.”
Like the Los Angeles locations, the new Uovo on West 28th Street will have counter seating with a direct view of the chefs preparing the pasta. Whether at the counter or at the table, you can order à la carte or choose from different tasting menus that include three pastas as well as a starter and dessert. But there are no seconds for Uovo. Pasta is the main event.
“What we want to do in New York is replicate the quality, consistency and creativity that we have in LA,” Uovo founder Carlo Massimini tells the Observer. “We want it to be exactly the same.”
Uovo is all about taste memories. Its Bolognese recipe comes from Bologna Antica Trattoria della Gigina and dates back to the 1950s. Carlo and Lele Massimini, the Rome-born brothers who started Uovo with Jerry Greenberg and Lowell Sharon, have recreated their mother’s vongole for their menu.
Uovo is undoubtedly a serious, precision-oriented restaurant, but it is also an informal and accessible place to have dinner. No reservations. You can order a tasting menu for $50 or less per person, including tip. You are also strongly encouraged to come with a plate of pasta, a glass of Italian wine and nothing else. Uovo is all about traditional, no-frills dining.
“We’re old-timers,” Lele Massimini told the Observer. “We were eating in Italy years ago and we were just wondering why we can’t have pasta in America like the best places in Italy. Then we said, ‘Well, we have to do it.’
And if you’re going to create a game-changing restaurant, you might as well strive for perfection.
“We all have the same goal,” said Minin. “As a chef, it’s very exciting to work with like-minded people. We try our pasta every day, three, four, five, six times. We do it because we love it. And we want to make sure that every dish our guests will eat is exactly what we want to serve.”
Uovo is located at 13 W. 28th St., New York, NY, 10001, and will initially be open from 5:30 pm to 11 pm Sunday-Thursday and 5:30 pm to 11:30 pm Friday-Saturday. All-day hours will follow in late June.
