La Pecora Bianca

Another post-COVID dining experience, but this time I checked out La Pecora Bianca (NoMad), located right on Broadway. La Pecora Bianca aka “LPB” is a small NYC based restaurant chain with two locations — NoMad & Midtown. I have been to their midtown location for Restaurant Week once, which was my first time at LPB. I loved it then and I love it now just the same, even if it means dining al fresco in 98° heat.

The Deets

LPB has lots of room for outdoor seating, which makes them a prime lunch spot on the weekends and a crowded dinner pick during the week. This weekend in particular consisted of no reservations, but I think we just got lucky. Make a reservation on Resy, just to be safe. However, not all of their tables are shaded by scaffolding and/or umbrellas, so we did end up sitting in the sun. The hostess reassured us we would cool down soon enough because we were close enough to the sidewalk that when the sun started to move we were finally in the shade. But there are only so many shaded tables, so be mindful of lunchtime dining.

I loved the vibe of LPB when they offered indoor dining, but somehow they brought that same feel outdoors. There were very nice table settings and white table cloths, so that’s a hint at the dress code. Be sure to wear something dressy casual. And just a side note… Clever marketing move to have some of the servers and table bussers in memorable branded tees that read “sheep dreams are made of these.”

Now for the specifics of the venue, it seems like everyone wants to know about every little detail including the cleanliness of the restaurant way more than they did pre-COVID, so I try my best to be observant when I dine out and write reviews. In terms of the facilities, there are separate restrooms for ladies and gents. However, it is a single bathroom, so you might get caught on a line. And, of course, you have to wear a mask when indoors. And as expected, all restaurant staff were wearing masks, whether they were in or outdoors.

The Service

Nicholas was our super attentive waiter. He gave great food recommendations, which was evident by other surrounding tables ordering the same thing. It’s pretty easy to tell what the customer favorites are just from looking at all the other restaurant patrons’ dishes. I loved everything I ordered, but it doesn’t hurt to check out the menu in advance.

My only pet peeve was that I thought the hostess had the mostess attitude. She was a bit snippy, but not overly rude, so I can get over it. Still though, the attitude could've been checked at the sidewalk. The bussers were great about removing dishes and any unused silverware out of the way between courses. And LPB gets extra credit for being on top of cold water service because it was a hot day. So generally, great service according to me!

The Food

A Side of Veggies

We ordered a side of Brussels Sprouts, which are like my new favorite vegetable that I’m always experimenting in the kitchen at home these days. This was a new recipe for me since I always stick to a basic balsamic glaze on my sprouts. LPB throws in some rosemary honey, lemon, and chili flakes. And in my opinion, the portion was very generous for only $10.

Healthy Salads

My boyfriend ordered the Toscano Salad with some shrimp for an additional $7. The salad costs $16 and is very plentiful with its ingredients and they were not stingy with the shrimp, which is always a plus. Copied verbatim straight from the menu, the salad had Tuscan kale, baby carrots, ricotta, Parmesan breadcrumbs drizzled with a lemon vinaigrette. If it were my dish, I probably could do with a little less ricotta, but more is always better than too little.

A Pasta Dish

The Garganelli pasta came with roasted wild mushrooms, arugula pesto, garlic, and pecorino for $23, which really isn’t bad for the right portion of pasta. My rule of thumb is generally not to pay more than $30 for a dish of pasta unless it’s a handmade house specialty or something like that, otherwise, it’s just a waste. And this pasta dish was very filling because the pasta is thick and the sauce is rich.

The Drinks

LPB has a pretty good beer selection for an Italian restaurant because I feel they usually just have a really good wine list and some specialty house cocktails to choose from. My boyfriend ordered the Juice Bomb IPA, but I stuck with water. If I could do it all over again though, I would probably try the Lavender Spritz, which is basically just a combo of gin, lavender, and Prosecco.

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