Gina La Fornarina offers hot food, hot atmosphere

After a long day at Butler Library, transitioning into nightlife smoothly seems tough. Fortunately, newly-opened restaurant Gina La Fornarina is here to help, with reasonable prices and a sensual, thoroughly European vibe.

Located on W. 73rd St. and Amsterdam, this restaurant is close to campus, yet classier than normal neighborhood haunts. Still, Gina’s has a young, sexy vibe. Filled with two-person tables, the restaurant clearly targets the dating crowd. But despite the mostly modern décor, Gina’s also boasts techno music and a pink hue, like a disco lined with wine racks.

Gina’s menu offers traditional Italian dishes and some lighter, café-style fare. Nothing on the menu is over 20 dollars, even the fish and steak dishes, and the portions are neither oversized nor tiny. Traditional dishes feel very authentic, and the ingredients appear impeccably fresh.

Crispelle spinach and ricotta consists of three crepes filled with ricotta cheese and spinach, topped with Parmigiano cheese and tomato sauce. While the serving size is generous, the dish is so delicious that it is easy to finish. The ricotta’s creaminess and the sweet home-made tomato sauce turn this pasta dish into a rich and satisfying meal. The mixture of savory cheese and thick sauce delivers a well-balanced flavor, though the actual amount of sauce is disappointing.

On the café side of the menu, Gina’s also offers thin, crisp pizzas, sized for an individual. One original flavor, the thin and crispy focaccia Gina, contains Robiola cheese, tomato, prosciutto crudo, and avocado. The flavors come through distinctly, and the pizza tastes like a healthier version of eggs Benedict. The avocado’s creaminess brings out the saltiness of the prosciutto, and even with slightly soggy tomatoes and bitter greens, the pizza’s flavor satisfies. The crusts are thin like crackers and keep the pizza light.

Like the rest of Gina’s menu, the desserts range from traditional Italian, like tiramisu or torta di ricotta, to more contemporary pastry choices like apple tart or chocolate bomb cake. Crepe cake with Chantilly cream is delicious—moist layers of syrupy caramelized crepes topped by a nicely sweet cream. The apple tart is tasty, too—a rich cake soaking in a vanilla bean sauce. However, it’s regrettably more cake than apple.

In addition to well-prepared food, Gina’s also provides a diverse and reasonably priced wine list.

Early in the evening, the service is friendly and attentive, but as the night wears on, waiters become hard to find and often take a long time to retrieve checks.

Overall, Gina La Fornarina executes authentic Italian cuisine masterfully, never straying too far from traditional flavors even in specialty dishes. Although still a new restaurant with service kinks to work out, this sexy little Italian number is hot.