High Marks For Rezdora As It Approaches Its 5th Anniversary

While people are finally tip-toeing through the tulips this spring, in terms of food, some of us can’t detach our forks from the dish Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia—on the beautiful plates at Rezdora in the Flatiron District of New York City. Wordplay or not—it’s the name of one of the restaurant’s most sought after creations—and, still, after five years, no matter what is happening outside, a plate of authentic, fresh pasta there by Chef Stefano Secchi is always in season.

And when those dishes continue to receive accolades from the critics and diners in your own backyard—in this case, the eagle-eyed eaters of New York—you know you are on to something. Michelin-starred in 2021, 2022, 2023; 3 Stars from New York Times; and NYT 100, are all honors that no one serious about eating in New York takes lightly.

Good Food + Recognition for Said Good Food = Full Restaurant.

But when the honor comes from the land of your roots, the source of inspiration, and the very place Secchi and his team try to honor every day, the recognition from 50 Top Italy reverberates in a more profound, even visceral way. It just hits different.

At a recent celebration in Italy, where Secchi’s Rezdora was honored as the #7 Best Italian Restaurant in the World—2024 and with a Made in Italy—2024 award, with his Italian father by his side, the moment was truly unreal. Secchi says, it was hard for his father to hold back tears, “as three-starred chefs, went up to him, like he’s the legend in the room.” This type of recognition is the most personal.

“We just want to push Italian culture forward, and in the correct way in the states,” he noted after receiving the award. “We are humbled to receive this recognition from across the seas and be included with such an incredible group of colleagues and peers. Thank You to our incredible team, whom it is a pleasure to work with daily, and our valued and fantastic guests whom keep us consistently pushing......forza Italia, forza New York City, and grazie a tutti!”

Such acknowledgement however, does not mean, all’s right with the world. “It’s great to get that recognition and reinforcement,” he said. “That people see what you are doing, see your intention behind it—it does make recruiting easier—but it comes with great responsibility too.”

Blood Sweat and Tears

Secchi and his team seemingly make magic everyday, as they transport guests from the folds of their delicate, homemade pasta to the restaurant’s signature blue-accented, decorative plates. The actual plates, Secchi says, are meant to be a very identifiable blue found as you walk the streets in Modena, for example, in Emilia-Romagna, the region notably captured at his restaurant. “You see it when you look at the addresses along the streets. We wanted to be very aggressively Italian,” he said. That is certainly one way to pay homage and transport every one who eats in his intimate, 60-seat eatery. Nevertheless, it is not magic; in fact, it is incredibly physical, pain-staking work with eyes on technique and the use of fresh, regional ingredients every day.

Many of the dishes are inspired by the masters with whom he worked, like the globally-lauded superstar Massimo Butuora of Osteria Francescana. And, of course, the nonnas he spent time with on Sundays after long days during the week. Each dish beckons a fond memory or story that he attempts to translate for every diner. Although the nonna of Rezdora’s signature dish, Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia, has yet to cross the pond, she and others are honored with every order and every bite, everyday.

Secchi’s own nonna died years ago as he was working, putting in 18 hours a day when living in Italy after culinary school. She lived to 96 doing what Secchi does every day: nurture and feed people with the best, most authentic food around. She did it while tending a family farm which helped provide for her village in Sardinia, and did so until the end. Secchi does so at his intimate osteria in Manhattan. Different time, different place, same rumbling of passion. He is still close to relatives in Italy, keeps ties to his family in Sardinia and up north where he worked, and of course, to where his restaurant pays homage. One day, he hopes to bring the dishes more closely tied to his nonna’s home to life.

Until then, he does so in small ways through a regular series of collaboration dinners which bring in visiting chefs for short residences and special pop-up dinners. On May 10-11, the restaurant will welcome Chef Mattia Agazzi of Gucci Osteria (Beverly Hills) for a Celebration of Lombardia through a seven-course interpretation of the region’s rustic cuisine.

These collaborations not only highlight the food of region beyond Emilia-Romagna, giving diners even more to explore, but it is also a way for the team to take a break from their day-to-day routines, get re-energized, and re-ignite their sense of purpose. The restaurant is planning for more special guest dinners this summer and fall.

In addition to featuring visiting chefs at Rezdora, one bidder at the April 10 City Harvest Gala will get the opportunity to travel with Secchi later this year—along with seven of the bidders’ guests—on a four-night journey to discover the exquisite cuisines of Dario Cecchini, at Antica Macelleria Cecchini, and Fabbio Picchi, (and more to come) while also learning about the wines in the region.

No matter how many stars Rezdora receives or lists it lands on, chefs like Secchi and his team will continue to cook as they do and follow their mission. “We cook soulful, agressively Italian food with no American influences; it’s what you’d eat if you were there in Italia. And, it is our job is to make people happy, doing just that.”

May 10, marks Rezdora’s Fifth Anniversary.

Highlights & Notes

Negroni Bianco, a nice, lighter departure from a traditional Negroni —

Gnocco Fritto, with Prosciutto di parma, mortadella and pancetta, melts in your mouth. You will want more, but MUST save for room for the rest of your meal

Uovo Raviolo Di Nino Bergese, with spugnarole, patata & tartufo nero. Just typing the name of this dish beckons the salivary glands.

Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia, with Cappelletti verdi with roasted, sautéed leeks & black mushroom puree. Rich, hearty, but perfectly portioned; truly an earthy bite with everything you want from texture to flavor.

A glass of red, San Luigi Dogliani, 2015 was a great trade off for a Montepulciano —

Gramigna Giallo e Verde, with slow braised sausage ragu “in bianco”. There’s something about “slow-braised” that already ensures better flavor. This certainly tasted like nonna had worked all day on it.

Torta d’ Oliva by Pastry Chef Dominique Canvin, This hits all the sweet notes you want after a delicious pasta-centric meal. Light and elegantly presented.

And, if like yours truly you need a bite of chocolate after dinner, Pastry Chef Canvin’s latest is a tempered Amaro and caramello-infused cioccolatini and crunchy pistachio cioccolatini for the win.