Is Italian Food Synonymous with Food Coma? Tovita Tastes: NYC's Bar Pitti

How often do we prepare ourselves for a post-Italian-dinner food coma? We've all worn baggy clothes to our favorite Italian restaurants with the intention of eating 'till our pants don't fit. The truth is that going out for Italian doesn't mean you have to succumb to personal orders of creamy pasta and burrata. There are always healthy salad, chicken, and fish options on the menu to enjoy, guilt-free. However, we are the first to understand that sometimes there is a pasta dish that you simply can't turn your back on - and that's okay! When this is the case, we recommend ordering a pasta dish for the table to share. Enjoying a few bites of delicious pasta is what life's all about, right? Taking down a whole plate of spaghetti carbonara on the other hand never turns out so well. (Have you tried our vegan spaghetti squash carbonara recipe yet??)

Though they're known for their pasta, Bar Pitti actually does a great job of looking out for those of us watching our waistlines. Many of our favorite dishes are listed as specials on their famous chalkboard menu. If by chance one of our Tovita approved dishes isn't listed, just ask. They are always happy to accommodate!

Here are our picks for Bar Pitti done right:

Antipasti:

Pollo organico con endivia

• Insalata Di Fagioli Tonno E Cipolla (italian beans with tuna & onions)
• Carpaccio with rucola & parmigiano
• Tuna tartar
• Mixed green salad
• Mussels 

Entrees:

• Veal meatballs
• Pollo organico con endivia (grilled chicken on endive salad with sun dried tomatoes)
• Salmon arrosto (roasted salmon, we ask for it to be on a bed of arugula salad)
• Branzino

Now that you know Italian cuisine can be 100% Tovita approved, there is no excuse to roll out of the restaurant with your pants unbuttoned! We dare you to try it our way.

Tovita Tastes: Meme Mediterranean

We are constantly going out for dinner and trying new restaurants so while we're at it, we will be sharing the "Tovita Approved" options at some of our favorite spots. A healthy diet does not have to mean staying home and cooking every night. We love to show people how to navigate almost any menu to find healthy and satisfying options. Have a favorite restaurant and want to know which dishes are nutritionist-approved? Send it in and we will review the menu! 

What we love about Mediterranean restaurants is that there is always a simple grilled fish, filling hummus, and an abundance of vegetable options. One of our favorite mediterranean restaurants in NYC is Meme Mediterranean. If you haven't tried it, you have your next destination!

Lunch/Brunch Options:

Chopped salad, keep it to one pita

• Egg white frittata
• Shakshuka moroccan breakfast
• Mediterranean brunch, we ask for a 1 egg, 2 egg white scramble
• Grilled shrimp or chopped salad
• Seared tuna salad, no potatoes 
• Chicken or salmon kebabs, skip the fries (sorry!)

Dinner Options: Meme's is all about sharing, so we like to load up on shared appetizers and small plates and if we have room, share an entree 

Almond crusted scallops

• To start, we love the combination platter of all of our favorite mediterranean spreads. Ask for cut up vegetables like peppers, cucumbers, or carrots to dip rather than pita
• The small plates are where it's at. We love the almond crusted scallops, grilled octopus, yellow fin tuna ceviche and the chicken kebobs. Hard to pick!
• You can't go wrong with any of the salads. This time we went for the chopped salad. All of the salads are cheese heavy so you can always ask for no cheese or share with someone else to avoid going overboard
• Out of the entree options, the organic roasted salmon is a favorite. Beware of the risotto, take a few bites and focus on the delicious vegetables and salmon on the plate!
• The 7 roasted carrots or roasted cauliflower are our favorite side options

If you make it over to Meme's, let us know what you think! Share your meal with us on Instagram using #TovitaTastes

Tovita Tastes: Joseph Leonard

We are very excited to post our first menu for our new "Tovita Tastes" section. Going forward, we will be posting our top "Tovita-approved" options from menus that all of you amazing Tovita Tribers send us to review. This section will not be devoted to restaurants that pride themselves on offering inherently healthy foods; it will rather include menus from all types of restaurants. As consumers, we want to show you that just because an eatery doesn't define itself as healthy doesn't mean you can't make modifications to your order to make it healthy. To start things off, we are tasting a NYC neighborhood favorite, Joseph Leonard. JL has become one of our go-to work lunch spots for a few reasons: 1. its cozy, wooden atmosphere makes us feel right at home, 2. the food is guaranteed to hit the spot, and 3. its close proximity to Le Petit Puppy (because who doesn't love to play with puppies after some eggs benedict??). 

Without further adieu, a few of our top picks:

Brunch Menu:

1. Avocado toast with 2 poached eggs: this is great to split with a friend. since they only serve country-style white bread (vs. whole grain), try to stick to one piece. 
2. Benedict: sans the scallion cream sauce/hollandaise. at the very least, order it on the side and use your discretion. 
3. Little gem lettuces with chicken

Dinner Menu:

To Start:

1. Endive and grapefruit salad
2. Roasted octopus
3. Oysters

Mains:

1. Swordfish
2. Lamb meatballs

Sides (we love all of their veggies!) :

1. Caramelized cauliflower: also one of our personal favorites
2. Brussels sprouts 
3. Farro and kohlrabi
4. Butternut squash and radicchio
5. Roasted mushroom