Best Sicily Bottega

Best Sicily Bottega Opens on Beaver Street | Eater NY

"Tucked away on Beaver Street (87 Beaver Street, between Hanover and Wall streets), this small Sicilian shop opened last May and, to me, feels like a pocket of Sicily in the Financial District. Owned by Sicilians Silvia Lombardo and Nicolas Calia, it’s stacked floor to ceiling with imported Italian goods — red and green pestos, panettone, and multiple olive oils — and in the middle there's a small pastry case where the softball-sized arancini live. The recipes come from Lombardo, who has been importing Sicilian foods for years, and everything I’ve tried has been quite good: my first favorite was the arancini with beef ragu and green peas, and on a return visit I had cone-shaped arancini alla norma filled with eggplant and tomato, which turns Sicily’s famous pasta into a rice ball. Despite a hefty Instagram following and promotional videos by Calia (including an instructional how-to-find-it clip), I’ve never encountered a line, though the shop is busiest around lunch when Italian-speaking customers come for espresso and often leave with focaccia, olive oil cake, and almond cookies. Thursday is the best time to visit because they sell meatballs and the shop smells most like a nonna’s kitchen. It’s open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed Sunday." - Luke Fortney