W
hen Steven Carro meets with prospective hires, he does his best to dissuade them from getting into the restaurant business. “The first thing I say is, ‘Don’t do it!’ If you have enough people tell you that and you can get past it, then this is the business for you. You have to have passion, because, frankly, dreams of grandeur are great, but it’s about the minutiae. To be successful, you have to know how to peel shrimp endlessly, do the dishes, and all the nitty-gritty bits in between.” That said, he doesn’t know what else he would do besides work in the industry.

Carro grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island, shaped, as many hospitality people are, by the cooking of family members: an Irish mother, an Italian father, and a great-grandfather who owned a speakeasy in the Navy Yard. Perhaps it was in his DNA. Sunday meals can be defining memories, and it was no different for Carro. Meatballs, pig’s feet, tripe, and lasagna dressed the table. “I learned what I liked and what I didn’t, like Spam and beef’s tongue.” But it was an aunt, straight off the boat from Italy, who opened his eyes to real cooking. “I grew up on third-generation cooking. Then along came this woman who smoked her own salmon, grew her own eggplant, and made her own pasta. When I tasted her food, I knew I wanted to go to culinary school.”

The wine list at Scusi was curated by Percy Rodriguez, beverage director for Laurent Tourondel Hospitality. Similar to L’Amico, it features Italian wines along with a small selection of Champagne and American wines.

Coming in at around 100 labels, this tight little list packs quite a punch. The menu itself is broken down only by color or sparkling category, and not specific location. Rodriguez made sure it’s approachable, with something for everyone. “The list serves as an introduction to Italian wine, its indigenous varietals, and rock star winemakers, big and small. There’s also recognizable pinot grigios, chardonnays, and cabernet sauvignons, while also championing friulanos, sangioveses, nerello mascaleses, and many more. Guests have the opportunity to explore the regions of Italy alongside Chef Tourondel’s excellent interpretation of Italian cuisine.”

Nestled in the green hills of Todi in Umbria, Cantina Roccafiore grow their grapes in organically cultivated soil. At 75 percent Grechetto di Todi and 15 percent Trebbiano Spoletino, the grapes are grown in clay soil, totally hand-picked when they are perfectly ripe and then gently pressed. The maceration of the must is done naturally and the fermentation process is carried out in steel vats with temperature controlled. Aging takes place for 6 months in stainless and 6 months in the bottle before its release.

2 oz Grey Goose
1 oz white cranberry juice
0.5 oz lime juice
0.25 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz simple syrup
1 oz egg white

Hard shake with strainer inside.
Double strain into a deco coupe.
Spray with lips stencil.

1 cucumber strip
1.5 oz Nolet’s Gin
0.75 oz Quinquina
0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup
Soda to top

Wrap cucumber strip inside glass.
Hard shake all ingredients except soda.
Strain into beer can glass.
Top with soda.

1 oz Aperol
1 oz vodka
0.75 oz grapefruit juice
0.25 oz St-Germaine
2 oz prosecco
1 grapefruit twist cut with pinking shears

Hard shake all ingredients except prosecco.
Strain into a wine glass filled with rocks.
Top with prosecco.
Add garnish.

2 oz Whip Saw Rye
0.5 oz cinnamon-infused Foro Amaro
2 barspoon maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
1 cherry on wooden skewer

Stir.
Strain into rocks glass.
Add garnishes.