Union Square Café

Thursday, October 16, 2008 - You can eat very well skipping the restaurant’s dated classics and sticking only to Quagliata’s contributions. Instead of fried “USC” calamari—a novelty before it became everyday bar food—begin with the sirloin carpaccio. The dish, whisper-thin raw beef showered in a traditional potpourri of condiments (olive oil, lemon juice, shaved Parmigiano, baby arugula), is the sort that never goes out of style. It features one wild-card element—fried parsnip curls that add just enough crunch without distracting for a minute from the top-quality meat.