By Yana Krasnitskaya
For years now I’ve been curious about the restaurant Canto. Located on Broadway between West 68th and 69th streets, Canto’s sprawling outdoor seating area is almost always full, regardless of the weather. I’ve seen people lounging at the tables with Aperol Spritzes and just as many braving the cold with steaming plates of pasta and glasses of red wine.
I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to try Canto than when I had a friend in town from California, and was looking for a place where we could properly take in the unseasonably warm October day. We went for brunch because I was specifically excited to try the shakshuka ($22) on Canto’s brunch menu.
I’m here to report that it did not disappoint.
With roots in Northern Africa, shakshuka is a dish of poached eggs in a spiced tomato-and-pepper sauce. The word shakshuka roughly translates to “all mixed together” in an Arabic dialect from that region, and accurately fits the dish’s one-pan preparation. Something as simple as eggs cooked in a tomato-based sauce can serve as a beautiful canvas for experimentation. I’ve tried shakshukas that were made with spinach and green peppers and with tomatoes and no peppers. Once I even had a shakshuka inspired by Japanese curry that truly blew my socks off!
Canto’s shukshuka straddles the line between traditional and experimental in a way that was incredibly pleasing to my palate. The base is a sumptuous, tangy sauce of tomatoes and red bell peppers, bolstered by a good helping of onions and garlic. Two beautifully poached eggs sit in the middle and are topped with bits of goat cheese that melted right into the sauce. It’s finished off with chopped scallions and a smattering of parsley. I also picked up hints of cumin and paprika, along with a good amount of salt and black pepper. In traditional shakshukas, harissa paste is added as well, but I didn’t notice any here. What I did notice is how well the richness of the liquidy egg yolk balances out the edginess of the sauce — as does the crisp, garlic-rubbed piece of toasted country bread that comes on the side. It is wonderful for dipping.
In addition to the shakshuka, I ordered the Bucatini alla Carbonara ($27) for the table. This is a traditional Roman pasta with a creamy sauce made from pancetta, egg, and pecorino cheese. The yolk arrived whole, right in the middle of the plate, to be mixed into the sauce. The noodles were perfectly al dente. Sharing this dish as an appetizer reminded me that Italians actually eat pasta before their main entree. It also made me eager to try Canto for dinner!
The Dish: Shakshuka ($22)
The Restaurant: Canto, 2014 Broadway, between West 68th and 69th, (646) 360-3857, M-Th, 4 p.m – 12 a.m., Fri. 12 p.m. – 12 a.m., Sat. -Sun. 11 a.m.- 12 p.m.
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Great photos. Appealing dishes. I will add this to my list to try.
Off topic, but I had a pasta at Aro Cafe yesterday. Fregula Mari e Monti
Fregula with shrimp, mushrooms, and salmon.
It was delicious. May I suggest a visit and review?
Canto is my favorite Italian spot in the UWS, hands down. Their frozen espresso martinis are incredible!
Sounds delicious, though in my opinion shakshuka should be at least a *little* bit spicy…
The shakshuka sounds interesting, although harissa isn’t essential to traditional shakshuka. And traditional Roman carbonara uses guanciale, not pancetta, and no cream. I did smile at the discovery that Italians eat pasta before their main course. I thought that was fairly common knowledge! But overall, the dishes sound delicious, and Canto is definitely worth a visit.
Haha it is fairly common knowledge! She said it “reminded me” 🙂
Love how much you know about the traditional preparations of these dishes! Do you work in the culinary industry or just a fan of good food? (Like most of us reading this column!)
Agree with you on the carbonara. Also, in the traditional preparation, the egg is briskly tossed in the pan with the hot pasta and emulsifies into a smooth sauce. Plopping a raw yoke on top of a plate of pasta which has somewhat cooled by the time it reaches the table would seem to yield something quite different.
The carbonara there is one of my go-to dishes there, and the egg seemed strange the first time, but I love it. It’s never been cold, possibly because they are fast and it’s sort of nested in the hot pasta.
the same dish at Grande Feast includes merguez sausage, which kjnda makes the dish special….
To elaborate on my off-topic post on Arco Cafe, (I hope I am not violating protocol but comments on the page for Arco are closed). Drawn by this story, I went up to Arco for an early dinner/late lunch around 5 PM. The place had one table of three occupied ad otherwise was empty. I was greeting by the smiling hostess and offered a nice table by the window. After debating over which pasta to order, I decided to try something I’d never eaten: Fregula Mari e Monti: Fregula with shrimp, mushrooms, and salmon. With a crisp light lager, the dish arrived very hot. Small BB sized balls of pasta with shrimp, sliced mushrooms and chunks of salmon in a butter and delicious sauce. Every forkful was so tasty I had to slow myself down to fully enjoy the dish.
I finished close to 6 PM and by then people were streaming in, so that by the time I paid the check, the tables were all occupied and people were waiting. I noticed that a glass display of baskets contained at least 6 different dry house-made pastas, and many people came in to buy some.
The check with tip came to less than $40; about 2/3 of what a similar meal would have cost at many good pasta restaurants. This place is a keeper.