It\u2019s food fit for a Pope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chef Salvo Lo Castro, of Casasalvo on Spring Street in SoHo, spent 10 years at the Vatican and cooked for two popes. The food at his eatery is Sicilian-Mediterranean.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lo Castro said that the cuisine from his native Sicily has several influences.<\/p>\n \u201cNorth Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Greece, and Italy,\u201d he said of the menu, which features plenty of pasta, fish, and what he called his \u201cunique\u201d beef meatballs with sauce slow-cooked for eight hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lo Castro opened the eatery last year. He has cooked for many notables, and there are pictures of him on the wall with the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Danny DeVito, and Michael Imperioli.<\/p>\n But what has gained him a lot of attention is his work at the Vatican, cooking for Popes John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. So what were their favorite dishes?<\/p>\n \u201cPope John Paul liked spaghetti with tomato and soup. Pope Benedict preferred gnocchi, potatoes; he is from Germany, and strudel,\u201d said Lo Castro.<\/p>\n Lo Castro is serving up that gnocchi di Papa Benedetto for NYC Restaurant Week. The summer edition of the twice-a-year promotion runs from July 20 to Aug. 16. Prix fixe lunches and dinners are priced at $30, $45 and $60; tax and tip not included.<\/p>\n Lo Castro said Restaurant Week can be a boost for his and other food establishments around town.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s very important to have the new guests and the new customers and the people I discover in my kitchen and during the Restaurant Week, I go to every table and thank them for visiting Casasalvo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The restaurant is a decorated space with, of course, plenty of nods to the chef\u2019s past at the Vatican. He also had an audience with Pope Leo recently.<\/p>\n\n