Da Andrea con Andrea!

Monday night Andrea (aka Bomber) and I met up with one of our sorority pals who was in the city for work. Double D was working down on Hudson Street, so a place on the west side in the West Village seemed in order. Bomber suggested Da Andrea, a small Italian place that's been on my radar for some time. I think she liked the name...

For our first course, we split an order of fettuccine di zafferano con verdurine e "tapanade" di olive nere. Translated, this was saffron fettuccine with vegetables in a tomato sauce over a black olive puree. While I loved all the veggies (reminscent of a ratatouille) I felt like it needed a bit more cooking time and some more aggressive seasoning. Bomber, however, thought the al dente vegetables added texture to the dish. I appreciated that the order came to the table split, a simple step that is often overlooked when you tell your server you are splitting an order.

I followed the pasta with the gamberoni alla griglia con fagottino di asparagi e salsa allo zafferano for my main course. This was grilled shrimp served on two skewers with asparagus and a saffron sauce. I really enjoyed this dish. The presentation was lovely and the jumbo shrimp had a good char on the outside without being too tough. I always love asparagus but I was served spears, not the 'asparagus tart' described on the menu. Either way, I'll take it. The abundant sauce was quite tasty but honestly, I didn't feel the shrimp really needed it.

Bomber had the filetto di salmone con carciofi, pomodori secchi e senape; salmon filet with artichokes, sundried tomatoes and dijon mustard sauce. Since I am not a salmon fan, I did not taste her dish, but it was a quality piece of fish and she really enjoyed the flavor the dijon added to the entree.

Double D went with the cavatelli di ricotta con gamberi, salmone e salsa al pesto; homemade cavatelli with shrimp and fresh salmon in a light pesto sauce. The pasta was fresh and flavorful and just the right texture.

One of the best parts of the meal was the affordability of the menu. The pastas are all under $15 and the entrees range from $15 - 20. Not too shabby in a town chock full of over-priced Italian restaurants. My only complaint is that the selection of wines by the glass were pretty slim and I would have loved more than two red wine options.

If you are looking for a small, inexpensive, casual Italian restaurant with an interesting menu that's not your typical veal marsala and saltimbocca fare, why not take a page from Andrea and give Da Andrea a shot?