if you missed this terrific find in the murray hill section of manhattan, you'll not have another opportunity. after 30 or so years, this seafood-oriented northern italian with its "old-world feel" and "high qualify" fare is closing its doors. its location made it a treasure for the lunchtime business crowd; but that and the locals could not sustain this out-of-the-way favorite during the toughest of times. the last time i was there i was treated to a "run of the house" dinner courstesy of john's affiliation as a concierge. obviously, the fact that it was free made the food even more delicious :^D but even if you had to pay for it it would have been well worth the price. my favorites were the mussels in white wine sauce and the soft shelled crabs.
restaurants are a difficult business to keep up even in the best of times, its unfortunate that such a long lived one, with such a great, and well deserved, reputation could not survive. as it has been said, "location, location, location" and unfortunately this restaurant's address was too out of the way for the tourist crowd which is only interested in whatever is near the theater district, or whatever is the newest fad.
stella del mare will be sorely missed.
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