Although Italians originally invented pasta as a fastener to keep Sicily from floating away, they abandoned it for less-delicious moorings after locals on both sides kept snacking their way toward separation. Tether your taste buds to today's Groupon: for $12, you get $24 worth of Italian cuisine at Open Kitchen.
After entering the cozy confines, dive face first into the deep menu, which contains a wide variety of classic, noodle-based dishes as well as popular entrees such as chicken parmigiana ($11.50) and veal juliano ($12). Those who like their meals stacked can fork feed the heaping lasagne di stefano, its layers of flat noodles held together by the deliciously binding forces of provolone, ricotta, and signature meat sauce ($8.50). Meals divisible into slices include specialty pizzas such as the Mama K supreme, which is piled with pepperoni, ground beef, sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and salami ($12.50 for 12'').
The friendly and casual Open Kitchen is one of the oldest pizzeria and Italian joints in the city, having served authentic Italian cuisine for more than half a century. Its redbrick interior is adorned with Italian flags and classical red-checkered tablecloths, giving passing European turtle doves an authentic backdrop to rest their wings.
Open Kitchen
To craft their braciola (italian beef rollups), Open Kitchen’s chefs begin with a large slice of top beefsteak. They stuff the steak with fresh italian sausage, prosciutto, and genoa salami, then simmer the concoction and serve it with pasta pomodoro. This is just one example of their vast menu of Italian fare, which also includes ravioli parmigiana, pizza, and sub sandwiches. Perhaps the pièce de résistance is Open Kitchen’s mixed Italian cuisine platter—pasta covered with chicken livers, slices of veal, chicken parmigiana, meatballs, and mushrooms for one or two.