Great Italian for an unbeatable price

Sometimes you just want a great dish of pasta.  You want to go all out, screw the low-carb diet and indulge.  But you want it to be good and fresh and worth it.  When I get that urge and I want to stay local, I go to Celeste, on 84^th and Amsterdam.  They don’t take reservations and there is always a line out the door, but eat there once and you will know why.  Chef Giancarlo Quadalti hails from Italy and the food is so authentic it makes you feel as if you were in Italy and not the upper west side of Manhattan.  The pastas are made fresh daily and you can taste the difference in every mouthful.   Each dish is full of flavor and cooked to perfection.  Two of my favorites are the Linguini Vongole:

and the Arrabiata:

I ventured out and had Salmon when I was there last week and it was fantastic.  And if you like pizza you can’t go wrong with the thin crust pizza from their wood burning oven and what Italian meal would be complete without a little homemade gelato?  (Yes I went all out and had the dessert too – but real gelato?  So good!!)  We also had the Lemon Pie.  It was fantastic!

The wine list is very good and the prices are more than reasonable, as are all the prices on the menu.  It is probably one of the best values you will find in Manhattan.  The portions are huge and the prices are small.  They are no longer a secret (at least among the upper west siders) so be prepared to wait a bit, but if you call ahead they will let you know how long the wait is.    Also it is cash only.   It is small, but cozy and the service is warm and friendly.  They pack them in every night, but boy do they get it right.  Every night.   Now that’s amore!

502 Amsterdam (Between 84th & 85th)

212-874-4559