Zia Maria

318 West 23rd Street

(between Seventh and Eighth Avenues)

Zia Maria is the new restaurant that opened at the site of the closed Patsy’s in Chelsea.

On a hot, humid summer day, I stopped in for their air-conditioning and to try their $14.95 lunch special (soup of the day/house salad and pasta dish).

The restaurant was empty. Odd as it was at the height of lunch hour. It could be because it was a rather new restaurant, as it’s been only open for about three months.

It’s a pretty restaurant with a wood stove in the back of the restaurant.

As soon as I was seated, they brought out basket of freshly baked garlic bread. Delicious! Toasted just right and tasty even without the olive oil.

Since it was hot, I immediately chose to go with their house salad. The salad was a surprisingly large portion size. And the vinaigrette dressing was excellent.

For the pasta, I went with their meat lasagna.

It was good and filling, and I certainly didn’t need to eat dinner that night. It did, however, take a while for my entrée to arrive (which may be a good thing as it assures me that the pasta wasn’t just nuked).

And I wasn’t troubled by the wait, as a glass of Secret Identity rosé ($12) kept me company.

Pros:

Good service.

Cons:

Offer a greater variety of salad options for their lunch special.

Lunch special menu not printed or written on a board, so have to listen carefully to the waiter when he recites the pasta options.

Final Thoughts

Will return, as I have to try the pizza!