January 2003: Agrodolce
By
Cynthia Hacinli
Published Wednesday, January 01, 2003
This youthful Italian trattoria buzzes with energy to spare. It has a creative regional-Italian menu, and the kitchen whips up daily specials--flights of fancy that keep things fresh even if they don't always work. Yellow walls with vivid murals make for a sunny backdrop; in good weather, tables are set up on the plaza outdoors.
Start with brittle fried squid or asparagus swathed with prosciutto and crusted with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Or dive into a thin-crusted pizza from the wood-burning oven. The inventive Cal-Ital pastas--farfalle with chicken, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and pancetta; sautéed shrimp with cannellini beans and radicchio sauce--can be split as starters or ordered as entrées. Some of the entrées, such as a savory veal scallopine with citrus-Marsala sauce and pistachios, are served over pasta as well. Among the interesting main courses: chicken with walnut-rum-cream sauce, green apples, and preserved ginger; rack of wild boar with pomegranate-balsamic reduction; wonderfully crisp duck confit with orange-star-anise glaze (get the pear-ginger chutney on the side); and salmon with lemon, capers, wilted spinach, and grilled polenta. The bold flavors beg for a simpler, sturdier bread than the focaccia in the basket, but the general exuberance overcomes the missteps. Highs on the dessert roster are a tiramisu in a clear glass coffee cup and the clever mousse-filled chocolate cigar.
|
|
Spending Valentine's Day with that special someone? Flying solo? Either way, here's our guide to make sure it's your best one yet.
more
Have a bunch of Silicon Valley geeks at Palantir Technologies figured out how to stop terrorists?
more
Our husband-and-wife advice team counsel a man wondering if it’s reasonable to expect his grown son to abide by the house rules.
more
Iris Krasnow, the author of bestselling books on relationships, talks about what makes love last.
more
The Trump Organization says it’s committed to making the historic property the “finest hotel in the country, if not the world.”
more
|