Portale

Chelsea Italian Restaurant Portale Nabs Two Stars in the New York Times | Eater NY

"At 126 W. 18th Street, between 6th and 7th avenues in Chelsea, I found Alfred Portale’s first solo restaurant serving emphatic sauces and high-spirited appetizers. The pastas were the highlight — especially the Emilia-Romagna tortellini in brodo, which he stuffs with foie gras, cream and chestnut paste that melt like hot fudge inside pinkie-ring–sized pasta, set in a voluptuous double chicken stock. Cuts of meat and fish were generous and skillfully cooked but were often upstaged by the appetizers, pastas, and vegetables. Portale feels like a more casual endeavor than his previous work, and The Times awarded it two stars." - Luke Fortney