Renewing an Old Acquaintance
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

About six weeks ago, the NoHo restaurant Il Buco celebrated its 10th anniversary by holding a very public pig roast. Pedestrians strolling along Bond Street must have been surprised to see an entire hog splayed out on a curbside grill in front of the restaurant. The weather was mild, the pork was juicy, and it was hard to imagine any better place to be than right there.
The pig roast (which also featured excellent coleslaw, apple fritters, and apple-pork sausage) was a shrewd attention-getter, because Il Buco, which specializes in Mediterranean food, is precisely the sort of restaurant that’s easy to overlook amidst New York’s frantic restaurant scene. Always highly regarded but long past its “hot” period, it has neither the excitement of a new eatery nor the perma-buzz of, say, the Mario Batali and Danny Meyer empires. When I mentioned the pig roast to friends, several of them said, “Oh, right, Il Buco. I know it’s supposed to be great, but somehow I’ve never gotten around to eating there.” Until then, neither had I.
As it turns out, this is a particularly good time to get acquainted with Il Buco – or to rediscover it, if you haven’t visited in a while. Ed Witt, formerly of Daniel, joined as executive chef early in the year, and his autumn menu is superb.
Meanwhile, the owners have taken steps to deal with one of their longtime frustrations: the import prohibitions against many of the best Mediterranean hams and other cured meats. They’ve installed their own curing room and contracted with several small farmers specializing in heritage and rare-breed hogs, including a breed left behind by Spaniards over a century ago on Ossabaw Island, off the coast of Georgia. The result is house-cured meat that’s extremely similar to what you’d find in Europe, and really good pork (which comes in handy if you’re, say, throwing a 10th-anniversary pig roast).
You can taste the fruits of these labors in Il Buco’s wonderful roast Vermont suckling pig ($28). The slab of pork, rimmed with fat and crisp crackling skin, is extraordinarily juicy and will be a revelation to anyone who’s forgotten how good pork tasted before the swine industry started breeding super-lean hogs. Served with mashed potatoes infused with olive oil, it’s the very definition of a hearty November meal.
The suckling pig is the signature choice among a rotating series of entrees, three of which are typically available on a given night. There’s also a rotating selection of daily pastas, including a truly sublime ravioli stuffed with shredded guinea hen ($21) and drizzled with truffle oil – savory and satisfying without being heavy.
But the heart of Mr. Witt’s menu is his extensive listing of appetizers, which are a bit more substantial than tapas but still small enough to allow for a wide range of ordering and sharing. Settling in to explore this part of the menu is the best way to experience the restaurant.
Special touches even show up in simple dishes such as a bowl of olives ($6). Intermingled with the olives are a few thin slices of preserved lemon, an excellent addition that provides an unexpected hint of pungent sourness to the proceedings.
The logical next choice is a selection of cured meats ($14). Slices of pale lardo (pork back fat) alternate with pink capicola and ham. All have a complex, nutty flavor accented by a lip-smacking saltiness-a testament to the success of the new in-house curing room.
Moving on to cooked appetizers, essential choices abound. One of the most interesting is sauteed scallops ($12), which are served in their shells. The result is much brinier, more mollusky, than the scallops you’re probably used to (plus the shells look gorgeous on the table).An accompaniment of sausage in a red wine sauce provides a nice counterpoint.
A similar flair for the unexpected appears with the roast quail ($12), which features a pomegranate glaze that’s just sweet enough to accentuate the bird’s flavor without overwhelming it. And the excellent grilled baby octopus ($12) – perfectly charred outside, tender inside – is enhanced by a sprinkling of shaved salsify.
A trio of wine-braised beef cheeks ($14) comes off like the tenderest, most flavorful pot roast you’ve ever tasted, with a squash puree and toasted chestnuts amplifying the comfort-food angle. A plate of head-on shrimp tossed in sea salt ($18) provides a more festive air, with everyone involuntarily saying “Ahhh!” when they arrive at the table.
Desserts at Il Buco seem almost unnecessary-not so much because you end up stuffed, but because the parade of appetizers leaves your culinary curiosity sated. But if you’ve got a sugar itch that needs to be scratched, the pear-hazelnut tart ($7) is a worthy closer, as is the panna cotta ($7), a mild custard drizzled with balsamic vinegar. A slice of bittersweet chocolate cake ($7), however, was dry.
One of the best things about eating here is the setting. Il Buco began as an antiques store, and those origins are reflected in the rustic hardwood tables, the playfully eclectic lamps, and the furnishings. It all feels so convincingly old-school and earthy that the occasional sight of modern technology, like the maitre d’s computerized reservation console, seems jarringly out of place. Sitting at one of the communal tables, dipping a slice of bread in olive oil while waiting for the next plate of food to pass your way, it’s hard to imagine any better place to be than right there.
Il Buco, 47 Bond St., 212-533-3502.