We had a party of 6 at 7:30 Saturday night and a good time was had by all over the couple of hours we stayed. Given there were few reviews and they are so new we did not know what to expect, and our experience was so positive we were all still going on about it the next day. I will give a detailed review below - but you don't need to read it, this place is well worth your time and money. I will be back soon.
I used to work in kitchens and appreciate how difficult opening months can be as you are establishing routines and consistency with your staff, suppliers and customers. The team has done an excellent job, and walking in the door it has the feel of an established institution a decade in.
Food: Was across the board of excellent quality. Here is what we had and our thoughts:
Starters:
Greens and Beans “Rua Style,” pancetta, escarole in a light broth $12
- Probably my favorite of the night, this was incredible - we were fighting over the intensely flavored and generously portioned dish
Arugula and White Bean salad with red onion, capers, lemon zest and a housemade lemon vinaigrette$12
- To my taste capers are often underutilized by modern chefs. Those that use them add scant few to any dish. Not the case here - they are plentiful and stand proud with the onion and lemon in perfect balance.
Chef’s Choice of Italian Cured Meats and Cheeses, with olives and roasted red peppers $16
- of our three starters this was my least favorite, yet still solid. I found the olives to be quite mild - but I tend toward more assertive greek style, so this is probably a matter of personal preference. The cheese was quite good, and the charcuterie excellent, overall well balanced.
Capellini and Shrimp (Chicken). Thin spaghetti, evoo, lemon zest, white wine, garlic and fresh herbs $26
- We asked for a substitution (chicken for shrimp) which was accommodated easily. Excellent, with flavors that stood out and shown individually as well as together. It always bothers me when you have a wimpy ghost of garlic in the back of an italian sauce - this was appropriately loud, but not overpowering.
Pomodoro Basilico, linguine, San Marzano tomato sauce, evoo, garlic, basil, parmigiano reggiano $18
- Not your basic pasta - the fresh linguine had excellent texture and sauce that was hard to put down - exemplifies how simple, fresh, ingredients carefully prepared can outshine far more complex dishes.
Veal Puttanesca veal medallions, San Marzano plum tomatoes, oil-cured olives, evoo, garlic, anchovies, fresh herbs $28
- I didn't personally get a chance to try this one - because the owner liked it so much.
Chicken Marsala sautéed in evoo, Marsala wine, with mushrooms and garlic $24
- This is a dish near and dear to my heart, I made thousands of these way back in the day, there is a reason it is a classic and this is exceptionally well done.
Sausage and Rabe Pizza- San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, roasted garlic, sausage, broccoli rabe $16
- This was the dish I ordered, mostly because I wanted to see the range of the menu. Many people have strong opinions about pizza - I tend to appreciate it in all its different forms. This one was quite good - yet could be improved. They are using a conventional oven with a very good dough for that purpose. The toppings seem to point more in the direction of a Neoploitan (high heat) style. I feel like there are some inherent limitations to their current style, and they would be well served to consider branching out as they become more established:
1. Go full Neapolitan - a high temp oven and some tweaks to their dough would create a pizza that could command twice the price and present better at the table/camera.
2. Consider other styles suited to lower heat that are different/unexpected and could be brought up to the caliber of the other dishes on offer (Scilian, focaccia, metro, scrocchiarella)
3. consider more complex and flavorful toppings/pairings (smoked mozzarella, pickled cherry peppers, onion jam)
Dessert: They had several excellent choices, the server rattled them off, but after a few bottles of
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