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One enchanting, though incidental culinary moment in film history, is in Rear Window, when Grace Kelly’s Lisa Carol Fremont brings dinner from 21 Club to her apartment-locked beau, Jimmy Stewart’s L.B. Jefferies.
This was obviously special take-out, as even moviegoers unfamiliar with NYC’s dining scene at the time could glean from Kelly-as-Freemont’s ball gown and theatrical manner. And for a brief moment in 2020, similarly august institutions started expanding their take-out and delivery operations, West Village hotspot Carbone primary among them.
Carbone has since ceased its to-go offerings, and now it’s as tough as ever to snag a table at the Thompson Street original, or, apparently, its newly opened Miami counterpart. But earlier this spring, its coveted sauce started popping up in stores in NYC and a few other areas along the East Coast.
Like Rao’s, another super-exclusive NYC red-sauce joint where tales of simply being seated have become the stuff of legend, Carbone has put some of its magic in a jar. Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi’s marinara, arrabbiata and tomato basil sauces are now almost as abundant as Prego in some NYC markets. Carbone’s parent company Major Food Group will add a roasted garlic variety soon.
D'Agostino's, Brooklyn Fare, and Gristedes are among a few of the grocery stores carrying the small-batch sauces, along with a smattering of other retailers in the Hamptons, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and online, where 4-packs sell for $40.
Entrées at Carbone like tortellini al ragu, spicy rigatoni vodka and orecchiette vito are all over $30, and its priciest pasta—lobster ravioli—claws in at almost $40.