Weekly Column

October 24, 2003

EARTHY ITALIAN

Filomena, a little Italian restaurant with a small earthy wood bar, wood table and chairs, and active sidewalk cafe in suitably warm weather, serves simple but inexpensive palatable cuisine.

Crunchy yet succulent deep fried pork chop, BBQ baby back ribs, fork-tender, flavorsome rib eye steak and Filomena’s mini veal, pork and beef meatballs with ricotta cheese and red sauce are excellent. Accompanying mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetable are likewise good. Begin by choosing lightly battered shrimp fried to savory perfection, rather than tough, salty fried calamari, and beware that soups can be lukewarm. However, generous portions of supple pasta like spaghetti carbonara heightened by smoky bacon all score high marks. An array of sparkling salads, sandwiches and desserts round out the menu.

Filomena, 39 Greenwich Av., (cor. Charles), NY. (212) 206-8362. L-D daily. D-ent. $10.95-$12.95. Prix fixe weekend brunch $8.95. Acc. res., maj. cc .