The New York City Wine & Food Festival hosted by Food Network took diners on a tour of the city’s best Italian establishments with their Peroni’s Taste of Italy event, hosted by Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli and chef Gabriele Bertaccini. 

Dozens of tents lined up against the Hudson River offered a myriad of pasta dishes, antipasti, pizza, cannoli, tiramisu and more while guests walked through the pier sampling each item, voting token in hand. At the end of the night, the restaurant with the most tokens would win the Peroni’s People’s Choice award — and a prize of $2,500.

I was lucky enough to try nearly everything at the three-hour-long event, walking between the tents and the giant soundstage blasting music throughout the pier. It was tough to pick just one dish from the several top-tier offerings, but eventually my token went to Portale’s truffle and mushroom arancini. 

However, if I could go back and walk the event with four more tokens, there are a few places I know for a fact I would vote for. Next time you’re craving some authentic Italian bites, here are the best of the best from Peroni’s Taste of Italy.

Best bite: Portale Restaurant’s arancini

126 W. 18th St., New York, N.Y. 10011

Portale Restaurant, a contemporary eatery in Chelsea, served up the most creamy, well-balanced arancini I’ve ever had. Founded by namesake and executive chef Alfred Portale, the restaurant offers dishes inspired by Italy’s seasonal approach to cooking. The menu focuses on fresh market meat and vegetables, including dishes ranging from every region of Italy.

The arancini — an appetizer of breadcrumb-coated fried risotto — was flavored with wild mushrooms and topped with a truffle aioli. The texture of the arancini is what won me over; the risotto was perfectly cooked to be creamy but not stodgy, which is a difficult thing to master. The crispy breadcrumb coating provided the perfect contrast to the risotto filling, and the small size of the arancini meant they were crunchy without being oily. I was a bit apprehensive about the truffle-mushroom filling, but it hit the best balance of being punchy and earthy without being perfumey — making these arancini win my token.

Best pasta: Violette’s Cellar’s shrimp and lobster cappellacci

2271 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, N.Y. 10306

A very close contender for my token, and the winner of WSN Digital Director Kevin’s token, Violette’s Cellar’s shrimp and lobster scampi was an explosion of flavor. Located in Staten Island, the party venue and restaurant is part of a family of five restaurants and bars serving a variety of cuisines from Italian to Mexican.

Cappellacci is a type of stuffed pasta folded in the shape of a hat, and it was the ideal vessel for the light seafood filling. The first bite I took was a burst of lemon, followed by the airy seafood taste of the lobster and saltiness from the capers. The pasta had enough integrity to hold the filling together but was delicate enough that it melted in my mouth. It was a good decision to feature such a light dish because it contrasted the heavier meaty pastas and perfectly matched the waterside venue. The rest of the attendees agreed with Kevin, because this cappellacci won the Peroni’s People’s Choice award at the end of the night.

Best pizza: Fornino’s wood-fired truffle and mushroom pizza

Multiple Brooklyn locations

Fornino, a wood-fired pizza joint with three locations in Brooklyn, served their signature charred pizzas all night long. While there were several other pizza places at the festival, several of the other slices were too doughy or flimsy. Fornino’s truffle and mushroom pizza provided the perfect balance between a slice that packed a punch and still held up under all of the toppings.

I had the same concern with this pizza that I did with the arancini, but the truffle did not overpower the slice. The creaminess and slight spice balanced each out perfectly and created flavors that lasted for several minutes after I took my last bite. I’m someone who’s picky about pizza crust — as someone who considers it the most important part of the pizza, I was extremely satisfied with the crunch of the crust and the charring from the wood-fired oven.

Best dessert: Settepani Bakery’s nutella panettone

196 Lenox Ave., Harlem, N.Y. 10026 and 602 Lorimer St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11211

Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Settepani Bakery has been part of the neighborhood since 1992. One of their specialties is their panettone — a type of Italian sweetbread that is a mix between fruitcake and bread. Although it’s typically served during the holiday season, Settepani serves their panettone year-round — and for good reason.

It’s hard to describe how beautiful the first bite of the Nutella panettone was. The pillowy cake combined with the Nutella and espresso made it extremely rich. However, the inclusion of a copious amount of whipped cream — a solid half the height of the entire slice — balanced out the heaviness from all the chocolate, making it a heavenly dessert.

Best story: Nonna Dora’s orecchiette in rabbit ragu 

606 Second Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016

I was definitely a bit apprehensive to try rabbit for the first time, but Nonna Dora’s story made me extremely curious. An expert in Puglia-style pasta, earning herself the nickname “The Pasta Machine,” Nonna Dora herself sat at the front of the station, hand-cutting and rolling every individual piece of pasta that made it to our plates.

The pasta was then tossed in a spiced tomato ragu sauce with shredded rabbit. The meat was similar to chicken, but slightly gamier, and the sauce had a great mix of spice and basil. I appreciated watching the team make every portion of pasta individually in a pan instead of in large batches — it added a nice personal touch to the dish, a big theme at the restaurant itself.

Contact Naisha Roy at [email protected].