Scalini Fedeli is the brainchild of chef Michael Cetrulo, who dared to open a chain of his own restaurants at an age when culinary professionals are usually just earning their reputations. The result surpassed all expectations: Scalini Fedeli was voted one of the best Italian restaurants in NYC!
Michael Setrulo began his culinary career at the age of 13 in his parents’ kitchen. At 23, after working for a Michelin Guide, he took the courageous step of opening his own chain’s first restaurant, Il Mondo Vecchio; a little later, a second Scalini Fedeli NJ, and in 2000, Scalini Fedeli NYC. Soon, New York restaurant of Maestro Setrulo was among the best among the best establishments of Italian cuisine, and The New York Times called it the best in all New York!
Let’s warn that Scalini Fedeli is not a cheap place, so get ready to pay a lot of money. Also, you’ll look in vain for frescoes, glittering mosaics on the walls, gorgeous chandeliers, soft leather couches, or a vibrant and famous crowd.
The interior of the restaurant under the vaulted ceiling and between the columns, suggestive of a north-Italian patrimony, is designed in ultra-conservative style: soft warm colors, minimal decorations (the mirror and strategically hung pictures), a maximum of greenery at the huge windows and soft, almost home-like, furniture.
The only detail that is sure to attract attention is a special wine room, just like in the houses of wealthy Roman old-timers!
The chef emphasizes that his cuisine is Italian, but with a French flair: yet the neighborhood of the spirit of the great culinary cultures did not go in vain for each other.
A vivid example of this “culinary fusion” is a specialty from the menu of Prix Fixe ($65 – yet the restaurant is not a cheap one): tender veal medallions on spring vegetables with vodka and mascarpone sauce, with spinach and Italian square pasta cannelloni with ricotta cheese!
However, you’ll also find typical Italian dishes abounding with seafood. For example, a hit of Mediterranean restaurants – fried scallops (as the menu notes, hand-picked by divers) on asparagus, spring peas and shiitake mushrooms, with saffron sauce and mussels.
Or – for those who don’t crave shellfish – braised lucian on riceotto with lemon, oregano and roasted peppers, in a sauce with garlic and basil. And for fans of the classics – Spaghetti Arrabiata with mushrooms, black olives, ground Spanish anchovies, with a spicy tomato sauce, or ravioli with goat cheese, with a sauce of vodka and roasted beet juice, with pickled tomatoes and peppers.