Here's Where Ina Garten Orders Her Favorite Penne Alla Vodka
The picturesque seaside community of East Hampton, on the eastern reaches of Long Island's South Fork, is home to sand and surf, historic homes and buildings, museums and art galleries, fashion and lifestyle boutiques, bed and breakfast inns, and farm stands overflowing with locally grown produce (per Travel Channel). Just a couple hours' drive from New York City (or a short hop by private plane), East Hampton is also a magnet for celebrities. Stroll along its quaint, tree-lined streets, and you might sight celebrity chef Ina Garten, among others.
If East Hampton had a queen or a Grande Dame, it might be Garten. The TV chef and serial cookbook author's gourmet food store, The Barefoot Contessa, was located in the village for more than 20 years, and a street there was named Ina Garten Way in her honor (per The East Hampton Star). Garten and her husband, Jeffrey, live in East Hampton; she also films her wildly popular TV shows there.
When she's not "Cooking for Jeffrey'' or mixing up supersized Cosmopolitans at home, Garten has a list of favorite foodie places, including restaurants, which she shared with would-be East Hampton visitors on her website in 2021. Sure, she could whip up some penne alla vodka at home. But if she's feeling time-stressed or simply wants someone else to do the cooking, she can visit Nick & Toni's for Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola — the pasta dish dressed with spicy oven-roasted tomato sauce that inspired her own version of vodka pasta.
Nick & Toni's: a sought-after table in East Hampton
Nick & Toni's is a mainstay on Main Street in East Hampton, popular with celebrities including Martha Stewart, Alec Baldwin, and Jimmy Fallon, as well as with everyday people (per The New York Times). The Italian and American restaurant with a focus on local ingredients opened its doors in 1988.
The chic, Tuscan farmhouse-style restaurant built around a big, wood-burning oven offers something for everyone, from pizza to wood-grilled pork chops to the now-famous Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola that keeps Ina Garten coming back. Many TripAdvisor users give high marks to Nick & Toni's for food, service, and atmosphere, though some comments are less positive. "Delicious across the board,” says one user, who visited in the off-season. "Not worth the hype,” wrote another.
Back in the day, Garten invited Nick and Toni's executive chef Joe Realmuto onto "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics” to walk viewers through his pasta dish. "I can't tell you how many times I've had that,” Garten said. The dish is clearly a fan favorite at the East Hampton restaurant; it's been on the menu for more than 20 years, according to Food52.
Making penne alla vodka at home
If a trip to East Hampton and Nick & Toni's isn't on your itinerary, you can always make Ina Garten's penne alla vodka at home. Insider writer Anneta Konstantinides, a Garten devotee who upped her cooking game during the pandemic by preparing recipes from Garten's long list of cookbooks, happened on the Barefoot Contessa's vodka pasta recipe while on the hunt for a "comforting” winter meal. "It's one of the most delicious pastas I've ever made,” she wrote.
The beauty of the recipe is that it's not terribly complicated and calls for ingredientsyou might already have in your pantry and fridge (and liquor cabinet and spice drawer): penne, onions, olive oil, canned plum tomatoes, vodka, heavy cream, dried oregano, crushed red pepper, etc. Oven time (90 minutes) intensifies the flavors of the tomatoes and allows time to clean up the kitchen and set a nice table — this is not the quickest dish on the planet.
You'll need to pull out your blender or food processor to render a nice, smooth sauce. And don't forget to pick up some fresh oregano for a bright, finishing touch.