This is a first: you heard right, for the first time ever the Italian Trade Commission in New York is launching the Italian DINE‐OUT, New York City’s first ever Italian Restaurant Week to celebrate Italian gastronomy and culinary arts in the United States through an exciting 11‐day dining event.

June 26th through July 6th, twenty three of New York City’s most authentic Italian restaurants will offer diners exceptional 3‐course prix fixe menus at special discounted prices: $26 for lunch and $40 for dinner. To appeal to New Yorkers’ preference for convenience, the Italian Dine‐Out has partnered with OpenTable.com to afford diners a one‐stop venue to peruse participating restaurants and make reservations.

Organized to commemorate 2013, the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, ItalianDine‐Out aims to stir New York City diners’ interest in the city’s many incredible Italian restaurants, offering a summertime respite in dining prices for some of the city’s best authentic Italian fare.

Pier Paolo Celeste, Italian Trade Commissioner and Executive Director for the USA, stated: “our objective is to invite New Yorkers who have visited Italy to rediscover it in the enclaves of their own city and welcome those who have not yet traveled there to indulge in a taste of real Italy during the DINE‐OUT promotion by sampling original recipes and authentic ingredients that render a meal truly Italian.”

"Addressing Italian Cuisine as part of our culture and traditions is a great initiative by ICE. More of these initiatives are important for Ristoratori and Retailers, as we strive toward the use of more authentic Food and wine products by professionals and consumers alike," Marisa May, owner, along with her father Tony May, of SD26, added.

Diners participating in Italian Dine‐Out will find that menus amongst the twenty three featured restaurants vary depending on the restaurant’s regional influence, with cuisine from Northern Italy, Southern Italy, and every territory in between.

Participating restaurants include: Aroma Kitchen & Wine Bar, Barbetta, Bice, Cacio e Vino, Cipriani Dolci, Cipriani Wall Street, Circo, Gradisca, I Trulli, Il Punto Ristorante, Joanne Trattoria, La Masseria, Le Cirque Café, Macelleria, Paola’s, Roc, SD26 Cafe and Lounge, Serafina, Sirio Ristorante, Tarallucci e Vino, The Leopard at Des Artistes, Via Emilia, Vice Versa.

“This is a great opportunity,” Giusto Priola of Cacio e Vino told i-italy. “We welcome this initiative and all guests with great enthusiasm because every opportunity we have to promote the delicious food of Sicily that we serve is precious. We have not created a special menu. Guests can select what they want from our regular menu, I want them to have the full experience.” And the menu at Cacio e Vino features authentic and delicious Sicilian specialties: from Caponata con Panelle (sweet and sour eggplant with chickpeas fritters), Involtini di Melanzane (eggplant rolls stuffed with bread crumbs, pine nuts, raisins, orange zest and sweet and sour onions) or Busiate al Pesto Trapanese (pasta with tomatoes, basil, garlic and almonds).

By participating, guests can enjoy a bite of many other Italian regions: at Via Emilia culinary specialties hail from the city of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), at I Trulli the menu celebrates the cuisine of the Marzovilla family’s homeland, the region of Puglia, while at  The Leopard at Des Artistes, Executive Chef Vito Gnazzo created a Southern Italian menu that finds its roots in the area once known as The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and features the culinary traditions of the regions of Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Apulia, Sardinia, and of course Sicily, reaching a balance between dishes based on rural elements, such as pasta, vegetables, cheese, and seafood.

To make reservations via OpenTable visit >>> [2]

For more information on the Italian Dine‐Out and menu offerings >>> [3]