Maiella Cacio e Pepe

My sister lives next to Maeilla - so she had insider scoop what to order. We arrived early at 6 pm for a 7 pm dinner reservation, so had the place to ourselves as most Americans dine late. It was full 8 pm onwards.

Photo taken from their FB page to give you an idea of the ambience.

They had a wood fire oven. I tell you Italians in NYC rule! And pity no one ordered any pizza. The pasta were all delectable.

Wine started flowing before eating.

The star dish is their iconic dish, the Cacio e Pepe. It's a Roman spaghetti purist dish I’ve been trying to master (besides Carbonara). It’s the simplest and yet hardest pasta to master - just 3 ingredients. Coarse pepper, pecorino romano and spaghetti. That block of cheese you see there is the waiter finishing up (tossing) the spaghetti in a massive pecorino romano ‘bowl’. The best I’ve had outside of Italy (Milan).

The chops (meat - veal, pork, lamb) are above average but nothing special. I ordered the pork chops as a main. To me it was overdone a little dry.

Total bill for 6 pax was USD360. Price includes two bottles of good wine. Prices in Long Island City are cheaper than Manhattan.