Brooklyn Independent TV Samples Noodle Pudding

By on February 19, 2010 12:20 am in Food


This is another in Brooklyn Independent Television’s series of short pieces about Heights people, institutions, and businesses. This one takes us into the popular Henry Street restaurant Noodle Pudding, where we meet owner Antonio Migliaccio and some diners, then to the kitchen, where chef Alfredo Musico Miccoli shows us how he prepares some dishes from his native Bari.

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  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Claude,

    Thanks so much for posting this fun piece. I love this place and am proud to consider myself a regular. During the summer i am a fixture on one of the three tables by the open front or the bar, though I don’t drink alcohol. Heaven for me is sitting on one of those tables watching my fellow neighbors walk by and inviting one or two join me for some wine and some excellent food.

    And Tony, the film gives you a sense of how great he is with his customer base and his employees. Too bad they missed Marcelo, the regular bar tender with Tom. Great guy. Thanks again, for bringing this report to my attention. I never would have found it on my own.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    I found a video that i buried deep, and i mean deep, in my film reservoir showing the boys of Noodle Pudding playing a game of basketball at Chelsea Piers. As mentioned in the film, the staff is like family and the turnover at this place in nonexistent. This film is not for the faint of heart. Thank goodness Alfredo can cook a great meal since a Gallinari he is not.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Forgot to link film. Probably for good reason.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7GZ9NW4UL0

  • AEB

    Ah, NP. A nabe treasure. But, in my opinion, of uneven quality. And raucous. Which can be fine sometimes but not on others.

    The staff does a remarkable, balletic-ly dexterous job of dealing with the crowd–they’ve got the thing DOWN, and they couldn’t be more courteous.

    Still, wish the food wasn’t quite as hit-or-miss. In my opinion.

    PS, curious: if, as depicted in the vid, you cook the broccoli rabe as long as the pasta–that is, long enough for the pasta to be cooked through–wont the broc be woefully overcooked? Guess that degree of doneness is favored in Bari. Guess the proof is in the…pudding.

  • my2cents

    They still need a host/hostess so the waitstaff who are overburdened already don’t have to seat people too.

  • my2cents

    Love watching Alfredo do his thang though!

  • nabeguy

    He’s giving away his secrets! Nice to have at least one recipe to add to my own personal repertoire. As for Antonio, feh. Yeah, he’s created a landmark in our neighborhood (and expects sainthood for the sacrifice), but having personally witnessed the way he treats his employees away from the glare of the cameras, I’d amend his reference to one of his staff as “working like an animal” to working for one.

  • AEB

    Or, Nabe, following my own method, handed down from generations of Jewish madri:

    For a pound of orecchiette, trim and blanch 1/2 bunch broccoli rabe until just tender; dry thoroughly and chop into smallish pieces.

    Finely chop 3 – 4 cloves of garlic. Heat 1/4 cup of good olive oil in a small pan; add the garlic and a fat pinch of dried red pepper. Saute the garlic over low heat until it just begins to color. Immediately remove the pan from the stove. The garlic will continue to color slightly. It must not at any point brown or, dio mio, burn.

    Cook the pasta al dente in lots of salted water and drain, leaving a bit of water on it. Mix well with the garlic-oil mixture.

    Fress!

    This is pasta WITH broccoli rabe. The NP dish appears to be the reverse.

  • lcd

    The food is great but you might as well dine alone since it’s practically iimpossible to converse! On that subject, are there any “quiet” restaurants anymore?

  • AEB

    lcd: no. Though I suspect they’re not shouting at each other to be heard at La Grenouille….

    …guess that at the highest of high-end place, one can catch some peace and quiet. Otherwise….

  • my2cents

    I have never found Jack the Horse excessively loud. I think the noise volume is just right there.

  • JM

    Hey nabeguy..WTF??? Ax grind much? My wife and I have known Tony and had the pleasure of being friends with a bunch of the staff ever since they opened (and even before) and we find your comment way off the mark.
    I wouldn’t recommend trash talkin’ him in front of the people you think he mistreats or you’d find out what “family” really means!
    Buon appetito!

  • LSK

    My sweetheart took me there for my birthday and after a few glasses of wine I managed to forget all my worldly troubles – including my laptop bag! The next morning I woke up in a panic, ran down to the restaurant (dark thoughts flashing through my mind) to find the bag was waiting for me behind the bar. My faith in humanity was freshly renewed and my love for Noodle Pudding was firmly solidified. Extraordinary circumstances aside, I absolutely love the food and service!