When Chef Tony Scotto says, “I’ve always enjoyed making pasta,” it feels like an understatement. At DPNB Pasta & Provisions, the Nyack restaurant he co-owns with his wife, Louiedell, Scotto makes luscious cacio e pepe, silky heritage pork ragù, and mountains of fresh pasta to supply the menu, the on-site market, and his wholesale clients.
Those perfect pastas are a result of skills honed during years spent at New York’s pasta pantheon — Mark Ladner’s Lupa Osteria Romana, Michelin-starred Del Posto, and Chef Michael White’s Altamarea Group — which ultimately led him back to his hometown. We wanted to know which products he couldn’t do without.
“Fazio Farms supplies our burrata, eggs for the retail case, and when we get rabbits or ducks. I started using them at Fish & Game, and they’ve been nice enough, during the pandemic, to drive down for us. The burrata has a very thin, delicate skin and I think it’s one of, if not the, best domestic burrata you can get.”
“There’s a cow’s milk cheese called Toma Celena, made by Cooperstown Cheese, that’s a great complement to a lot of our dishes. The fact that it’s a nutty, Italian-style cheese that’s made in New York plays really well with what we’re doing. We’ll finish a lot of pastas with it, whether it’s fresh cannelloni or lamb ragù.”
“Hudson North Cider is the only cider I find locally that doesn’t taste like sugar. It’s super drinkable and tastes of apple. We always carry the ginger-citrus and standard cider. The apples are from Minard’s Family Farm up in Ulster County. But what’s also cool is that they do a lot of donations to help maintain the state trails.”
“When we do mushrooms, we only get Tivoli Mushrooms. A lot of times, when you’re buying mushrooms, you’re just buying water. [Devon Gilroy’s] product is awesome. Because they’re not waterlogged, they have the flavor of the mushroom. When we get retail packs in the case, they sell out instantly.”
“We put in a small kegerator just for [Industrial Arts] Wrench. There’s a bike shop next door, and it proves to be the beer of choice for all these cyclists. It has enough structure, but it’s also not too aggressive on your palate, so it works well with pasta.”
