L’Asso has been one of my favorite places for pizza here in Manhattan for years, and recently we have been ordering the Puta di Mare (a shrimp and broccoli rabe pie with an artichoke sauce), but the past three or four times we haven’t been able to get out of the restaurant with out ordering their Arugula salad.

Ok, I know with a name like Arugula you are probably thinking that it can’t be that special, but I’ll assure you that you are wrong.  This salad consists of arugula, pears, crispy pancetta, candied walnuts, ricotta salata, white wine vinegar, and a little bit of honey.

If the mounds of ricotta salata wasn’t enough to make your mouth water the combination of fresh pear, walnut brittle and pancetta should do it.  The flavor combination on this salad is hard to match, and everyone I’ve shared it with has been equally impressed.

The Arugula salad is pretty expensive, $14, but like I said it’s big enough to share.  Last visit to L’Asso four of us shared this salad…it was big enough for all of us to have decent sized portions, but still have room for the enormous pizza we ordered.

It’s odd for me to gush over a salad (but I do have very fond things to say about the Habitat’s Butter, Bacon and Blue salad), but this one is truly top notch.  A great accompaniment to any pie or pasta you might be ordering, and extremely unique.  I highly recommend it, and even say you are missing out if you go to L’Asso and you don’t order it. It’s not just for salad lovers…this one can impress just about anyone.

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L’Asso is located at
192 Mott Street
at the corner of Kenmare
NoLita, Manhattan

The Arugula salad is $14, and once again it is big enough to share.

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• more of my musings on food can be found here.