Did New York need another ingredient-driven Italian restaurant, where the base elements are so good the food practically cooks itself? We didn't think so, until we had a killer meal at Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, the salumeria-trattoria spin-off of its slightly more formal sister restaurant Il Buco. The real question is: where do you start? More

With his burly physique, shaved head, and cauliflower ears, Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria's head baker looks like the wrong kind of guy you'd want to meet down a back alley in Bordeaux. And you'd be right: as a youth in France, Kamel Saci was a professional judo champion. But in his basement bakery, a completely different side to his personality comes out. For Kamel, dough is not an opponent to be beaten into submission; it responds best to a minimum of handling, the gentler the better. The results show his techniques work. Il Buco's ovens produce some of the crustiest and most flavorsome artisan loaves in the city. More

Sardines and stuzzicchino, a spicy marinated vegetable mix, are enveloped in pillowy bread made in-house. The stuzzicchino, almost an Italian take on salsa, is made with chili flakes, eggplant, and other assorted vegetables, and added serious heat to the sandwich, which was nicely counterbalanced by the mild sardines. More

At Serious Eats, we tend to be favorably disposed towards pig roasts in general—and Il Buco's in particular—so you can be sure that we will be attending their sixth annual Sagra del Maiale, an outdoor pig roast this Sunday,... More

Ignacio Mattos wound his way through kitchens in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, San Francisco, Spain and Italy before landing here in New York, ultimately at Il Buco. You may be familiar with the restaurant's annual pig roast, but you also don't... More

Don't miss a chance to sample Ignacio Mattos' slow-roasted heritage pig today from 1 to 6 p.m. at Il Buco. More