Though we understand their circumstances may have been a bit different, like Oliver and his clan of orphan boys, we’ve all fallen into a daze dreaming of “food, glorious food” at one point or another.
After all, it’s been said that food is the great equalizer, connecting us and bringing us together, either with family or friends, colleagues or companions, or any others from all walks of life, to dine often at a communal table or gathering space wherein we share stories and reveal the most authentic parts of ourselves.
In our continued effort, however, to find our way into others’ hearts (and stomachs!), sometimes it helps to venture beyond our tables and into the kitchens of others — especially in a city with such a diversified abundance of eateries as New York.
And of course, you can’t spell “theatre” without “eat.”
So, in our food-based series, we continue to poll some of the Great Bright Way’s best to “dish” (get it?) on where they love to eat, drink, and take in the vibes either pre- or post-show, while also answering why they love to sup there, sharing a favorite dish or two, and more.
Next, we’re roaring on with members of The Great Gatsby’s glittering ensemble, including Kayla Pecchioni, Dariana Mullen & Alex Prakken.
Pecchioni has appeared on Broadway in the casts of Paradise Square and Some Like It Hot (in the latter of which she also understudied Sugar). On tour, she’s appeared as Nabalungi in The Book of Mormon and as Duckling Donna in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Finally, she’s been featured as a singer in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
In addition to her budding work in the ensemble, in which she also appears as Mrs. McKee, she blooms as the understudy for Daisy Buchanan.
But if Pecchioni’s peckish, where does she end up?
(606 8th Ave.)
Praising the amiable staff and easy ordering process in equal measure, customers have been flocking to the small, intimate, and authentic Mexican restaurant since it opened its doors in April of 2021. Promoting “big, bold flavors” through official hashtags and slogans like #FreshandHealthy and “Good Food = Good Mood,” each dish is prepared in traditional Mexican style, preserving the pureness and freshness of all ingredients. (Should you choose a dish that offers it, know that all corn tortillas are both gluten and GMO free).
“It’s a good bang for your buck,” says owner Cristina Morales. “You get a very nice, fresh, and delicious meal at a reasonable price.”
With all-natural, sodium-free ingredients, including vegetables sourced from local farmer’s markets 3-4 times a week, “their unique, fresh flavors alone are enough to talk me out of the ‘should-I-make-it-at-home?’ buyer’s remorse” mentality Pecchioni claims most New Yorkers are faced with.
And she's not the only one who thinks so. “Surviving New York City on a budget can be tough… until you discover a place like [Maiz],” reads one review, while another proclaims: “We were able to eat for very little [money] at all, but when we ate, we ate like royalty.”
“We are so happy to see the majority of the feedback about our food to be positive," notes Morales, to that end. "That's what keeps us going."
Another such element is innovative pricing, now also initiated with a variety of low-cost drinks, including $5 margaritas, sangrias, and beers & $4 house shots — all of which are available all day, every day. “We know [city living] is very expensive,” Morales continues. “Our goal was to bring the price down, and offer affordable cocktail options to our customers. We already offer [low prices] with our food, why not do the same with our cocktails?”
As for the food, divulging her staunch “creature of habit” tendencies, Pecchioni proudly states (with the slightest hint of a sigh), “I get the same thing every time.”
And that’s the Chimichanga Plate – advertised as “a flour tortilla filled with cheese and choice of meat, rolled up like a burrito, and fried.” Pecchioni chooses steak (other options include carnitas, chicken, chorizo & vegetables), declaring, “It’s so good that [it] actually makes me want to curl up with my plate and a blanket” (perhaps not unlike the burrito in the menu description) “[to] enjoy it slowly over the course of a couple hours.”
Throw in a side of white rice and black beans, with guacamole, pico de gallo & sour cream (“with extra for dipping,” she interjects, urging, “just trust me…. the sour cream is unique to the store.”)
Other bestsellers, for the record, are the Burrito Plate – packed similarly with choice of meat, rice, beans and savory salsa – and the Shrimp Fajitas, featuring sautéed jumbo shrimp, marinated with bell peppers and onions, and served with rice or beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole and two flour tortillas.
Or try their quesadillas — choice of meat, shredded cheese, pico de gallo, salsa & sour cream — which, notably, thanks to Coca-Cola, were featured prominently at Citi Field, and available for purchase during all Mets games this past season.
But even so, Pecchioni argues, there’s comfort in having a mainstay: “Every time I get my go-to dish from Maiz, I can guarantee that it will taste just as perfect as the last.”
An absolute rose wouldn’t have it any other way.
Maiz is open 7 days a week from 11am-10pm.
(254 W. 47th St.)
With a history as rich and colorful as its menu, Trattoria Trecolori began as simply “Trecolori” when patriarch Joaquin L. Gonzalez — known colloquially as Jack — first opened the establishment on East 53rd Street.
As customers came flocking, he moved the restaurant to West 45th Street, in the heart of the Theater District, and tacked on “Trattoria” — Italian for “small eating establishment” — to reflect its booming success.
Following Jack’s passing in 2001, his three sons, Marco, Victor and Phil, took the reins and grew the business, eventually re-opening at their current location, and flourishing fab fabulously since.
According to the triumvirate themselves, the success of the business lies in listening to clients and consistently striving to improve. “Perhaps we believe that some things are best done the old way, just as il nostro padrone taught us,” the mission statement reads, “but our clients are grateful that they can savor our food while feeling as if they were sitting at the table with Mamma.”
An unbelievably apt comparison, as Pecchioni shares, of her time at the restaurant, “when my mother is town, we always have a girls’ date at the bar.” (And why not? “We Italians love our pasta!” she sidebars, with a laugh).
Touting the eager and amiable staff to be just as inviting as the menu, she notes that with such a wide range of options, she’s always faced with a choice to make – as opposed to having a “go-to” dish at the ready, as she might when dining somewhere lacking such a variety.
Though she’s adamant any dish will do, “I always must start with a caprese salad” – served traditionally, with tomato, basil, and mozzarella di bufala – “and a glass of wine” (choose from a selection of red, white, sparkling or rosé).
But from there, the sky’s the limit. Customer favorites range from the Chicken Scarpariello – with fennel sausage, rosemary, and a garlic demiglace sauce – to the Seafood Risotto – stuffed with shrimp, scallops, tomatoes, and asparagus – to the house specialty Veal Piccata, sautéed in lemon, butter and white wine, topped with roasted red peppers and capers, and served over pasta.
While she promotes freedom of choice, Pecchioini’s partial to the Linguini Alla Vongole – “the huge chunks of roasted garlic and fresh little-neck clams are hard to pass up!” – and she simply can’t say no to the Gnocchi Alla Baba. Lauded as one of Trecolori’s classic comfort foods, the dish features homemade potato-ricotta dumplings in a rich pomodoro sauce, mixed with diced eggplant, fresh garlic, and “mozzarella that nearly melts itself on the plate.”
But the choice is a little clearer when it comes to dessert.
“Without fail, I get the affogato, every time.” Creamy vanilla gelato submerged in rich espresso? “Who am I kidding?!” Pecchioni blurts. “I’m drooling just thinking about it.”
Sounds like you’d be a (beautiful little) fool to pass it up!
Trattoria Trecolori is open Sunday-Thursday from 12pm-10pm and Friday & Saturday from 12pm-10:30pm. Reservations are recommended.
We’ll continue to present a new performer with new restaurants and new menus, so keep checking back to see who we poll and what’s on their mind at mealtime! Until next time, as always, bon appétit!
