bettola/ emack+bolio's

For a catch-up lunch, we found ourselves at Betolla, just one of many modest eateries found along Amsterdam ave. It wasn't long before the heat and humidity got to us and we decided to settle with the next decent-looking place we passed, which happened to embrace rusticity and boast reasonably priced items. By the time the third member of our party arrived, my friend and I were so stuffed with bread we ended up splitting only two dishes among the three of us.

Pappardelle pasta with butterflied jumbo shrimp, cherry tomatoes, and arugula, all tossed in a tomato sauce. The shrimp was well-cooked and the tomato sauce was light and well seasoned. I enjoyed the dish overall, although we did find clumped flaps of pappardelle;unevenly cooked pasta is never pleasant.



Our pizza was topped with mushroom, mozzarella, parmasean, and truffle oil. All Bettola's pizzas are baked in its firebrick oven, which sits in the center towards the back of the dining room. The crust was deliciously crispy with the oozing cheese; However, I did find the pungent truffle to be a bit overwhelming.


For dessert, we headed to Emack and Bolio's, an ice cream parlor chain which offers a wide range of flavors with crazy mix-ins.


I can't remember the last time I had mint chocolate chip ice cream prior to this visit.Pictured is mint ice cream with oreo and shaved chocolate flakes; the light chocolate flakes were a nice alternative to the usually hard frozen dark chocolate chips. What a nice welcome back: (Grasshopper Pie)




My friend proclaimed this was the "best ice cream ever," for lack of a better phrase. The Cake Batter featured  yellow cake bites and ribbons of fudge swirled into creamy vanilla ice cream.



Bettola
412 Amsterdam Ave(btwn 79th and 80th)

Emack and Boilio's
389 Amsterdam Ave(btwn 78th and 79th)