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"<p>They say that health starts in the kitchen, so quality food and ingredients are often even better medicine than drugs. A rule that’s rather difficult to follow when you’re dining out – unless you “have an experience” at <a href=\"http://www.quartino.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Quartino Bottega Organica</a> in New York City, one of the few restaurants in the Big Apple where you can have lunch and dinner every day and feel like you’re eating at your mom’s place in Italy. In fact, Quartino was founded by four Italian doctors and a friend: From Genova, there’s Paolo Manfredi, a neurologist, while from Rome, there’s Giovanni Giordano, an ophthalmologist; Marco Gentilucci and Giovanni Manfredi, both cardiologists and finally, Francesco Malatesta.</p><div class=\"figure\"><img class=\"lazy\" src=\"/lazy.png\" data-src=\"https://media.lacucinaitaliana.com/photos/5f0d76d2a2bf43fe4d992a3a/master/w_900,c_limit/Quartino%203.JPG\" alt=\"Image may contain: Restaurant, Furniture, Chair, Cafe, Cafeteria, and Wood\" width=\"2268\" height=\"1512\" /><div class=\"caption\"><p>Quartino</p></div></div><p>They all work in New York City – except for Giovanni Giordano. Quartino was born for a simple reason: so that these five friends could enjoy a healthy meal after a long, full day of work. So in 2000, they decided to open a restaurant. Originally, Quartino was at Seaport in Lower Manhattan and in 2004, it was moved to Bleecker Street. Paolo Manfredi explains: “The typical western diet is based on ultra-processed, pre-packaged food, intensive animal farming, sugar (like corn syrup) and fats. All of these increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. And all of these illnesses cause the death rate to increase during COVID-19.” As Paolo points out, the menu at Quartino is based on the Mediterranean Diet with its fresh ingredients from local farmers – <a href=\"https://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/manhattan-union-square-m\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Union Square Green Market</a> in particular. The flour at Quartino is made from stone-ground organic whole grains from Oregon and they use it to make homemade bread, pasta, focaccia, and desserts. Organic hemp flour is added for its flavor, texture, and health benefits. “Our food is clean – like eating at home. All our pasta is made in-house, and we also make mozzarella here. Everything we serve is homemade: whole-wheat breads, pastas, and desserts. Our greens, eggs, and cheeses come from local organic markets and farms. Wild-caught cod, flounder, monkfish, and scallops are from Montauk fishermen,” says Quartino’s floor manager Stefania.</p><p>Paolo adds: “All the dishes we serve are made with our own organic olive oil that we produce, from our 500-year-old family farm in Liguria (<em>Azienda Agricola Le Teglie</em>). We use it raw to preserve the oil’s flavor and natural vitamins.  The wines come from Italy, too.” According to Paolo, our immune system, which is definitely influenced by our diet, plays a fundamental role in the development, progression and mortality linked to the majority of diseases.</p><div class=\"figure\"><img class=\"lazy\" src=\"/lazy.png\" data-src=\"https://media.lacucinaitaliana.com/photos/5f0d7707a2bf43fe4d992a3c/master/w_900,c_limit/Tagliatelle%20avocado.jpeg\" alt=\"Image may contain: Dish, Food, Meal, Plant, Produce, and Relish\" width=\"3068\" height=\"2157\" /><div class=\"caption\"><p>Fettuccine del Quartino</p></div></div><p>One of the signature dishes at Quartino is <em>Fettuccine del Quartino</em> – fettuccine pasta served with avocado and tomatoes. As Chef Eduardo Ortega explains, you don’t need to cook anything – all you need to do is mash an avocado, add the cherry tomatoes, salt, olive oil, and fresh pasta. The heat from the just-drained pasta will give the avocado a creamy texture.</p><p>Needless to say, even the desserts are on the healthy side, and some of them can’t be found anywhere else in New York City, like the hazelnut cake – made by following a <em>nonna’s</em> recipe with sweet <em>nocciole</em> from Piedmont – and the <em>castagnaccio</em>, a typical Tuscan dessert made with chestnut flour. “It’s vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free,” explains Stefania.</p><p>Quartino is also a beloved hangout for celebrities: “David Bowie was a regular here, along with Jim Belushi, Lou Reed, Jodie Foster, and Willem Defoe, among others. They get attached to us because they know our ingredients are natural and simple,” says Paolo.</p><div class=\"read-also\"><div class=\"img-circle\"><picture><imgclass=\"lazy\"data-src=\"https://media.lacucinaitaliana.com/photos/5f06d4903a6706d4182eb23d/1:1/h_200,c_limit/tagliatelle%20con%20pomodorini%20e%20burrata%20RL%2006%202019.jpg\"alt=\"Image may contain: Plant, Food, Dish, Meal, Produce, Sprout, and Vegetable\"width=\"200\"height=\"200\"/></picture></div><p class=\"read-more\" v-t=\"'article.readAlso'\"></p><p class=\"read-more-title\"><a href=\"/trends/healthy-food/how-to-be-a-conscious-eater-good-food-choices-pasta-included\">How to Be a Conscious Eater: Good Food Choices – Pasta Included&nbsp;</a></p></div><div class=\"read-also\"><div class=\"img-circle\"><picture><imgclass=\"lazy\"data-src=\"https://media.lacucinaitaliana.com/photos/5ef0635e93b5b7c8c3a9554f/1:1/h_200,c_limit/caprese.jpg\"alt=\"Image may contain: Food, Dish, Meal, Platter, Plant, Salad, and Lunch\"width=\"200\"height=\"200\"/></picture></div><p class=\"read-more\" v-t=\"'article.readAlso'\"></p><p class=\"read-more-title\"><a href=\"/trends/healthy-food/mediterranean-diet-healthy-lifestyle-sustainable-future\">How the Mediterranean Diet Promotes a Healthy Lifestyle and a Sustainable Future</a></p></div><div class=\"read-also\"><div class=\"img-circle\"><picture><imgclass=\"lazy\"data-src=\"https://media.lacucinaitaliana.com/photos/5ec93f8a27133b47495d30ee/1:1/h_200,c_limit/pollica.jpg\"alt=\"Image may contain: Roof, Neighborhood, Urban, Building, Nature, Outdoors, Weather, Sky, Cloud, and Cumulus\"width=\"200\"height=\"200\"/></picture></div><p class=\"read-more\" v-t=\"'article.readAlso'\"></p><p class=\"read-more-title\"><a href=\"/trends/healthy-food/does-coronavirus-fear-the-italian-mediterranean-diet\">Does Coronavirus Fear the Italian Mediterranean Diet?&nbsp;</a></p></div>"
<https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/trends/restaurants-and-chefs/quartino-bottega-organica-in-nyc-healthy-eating>