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*****
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2015!
Sorry it has been such a long while since my last post; it has been a busy season, between research papers, traveling to see family, and the holidays, and sadly, this has been the thing pushed to the back of my to-do-list.
But, I did have a couple of really great meals over the last few days of 2014, and Piccolo, a relatively new Portland restaurant, provided the best of them. I went with a couple of my step-siblings and their father (not my step) and his wife, who very generously included me. This was actually option B for us, and I am so glad we ended up there, as this was truly a spectacular experience all around.
Piccolo really lives up to its name, squeezed into a tiny space with only about twenty seats (if even that), but it does not feel cramped as you sit at the table, and the decor is simple but attractive. The servers are all friendly, and we ended up having one of the owners, who is also the pastry chef, for our waitress, which was really great as she knew the menu so well.
We began with the "salumi" plate, which consisted of a couple of cured or salted meats (bresaola included, which was so rich and delicious I could have eaten it all night), some olives, and a few really fantastic pickled vegetables, my favorite of which were the beets. Additionally, we ordered the "carotta" appetizer, which consisted of roasted carrots and a couple accompaniments, and which was a very good, albeit unspectacular, starter.
The entrees were where things really began to shine. The six of us ended up ordering three different entrees, with each having two people picking it: two "pasta fatta in casa;" two "calamarata," and two "del mar." Everything was homemade, locally sourced if possible, and made with a care and technique that is rare to find.
The pasta (and the name literally means house-made pasta) was cavatelli, served with a lamb neck ragu, eggplant, orange, and pecorino, and other than my own dish, this was what I ate the most of, as one of the two who ordered it could not finish the rather large portion she was served. The lamb neck was succulent and rich, the cavatelli themselves perfectly formed and cooked, and on the whole the dish was a delightful melange of flavors.
My dish, the calamarata, consisted of squid ink pasta (referred to as maltagliati on the menu, and seeming to be the ends of strips of papardelle) that was literally the best pasta I have ever had, the best cooked squid I have ever had (are we sensing a pattern?), charred tomato, peppers, and olives. I'll admit, I missed the olives, but everything else was there in delicious abundance. The pasta was perfectly al dente, the squid not even the littlest bit chewy (and anyone who has ever cooked that particular cephalopod knows how insanely difficult that is to achieve), and the tomatoes in particular was incredibly flavorful. Everything just worked, so ridiculously well, that it has launched itself into the pantheon of best dishes I have ever had, a list that includes the short ribs I had at Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas a couple years ago. I cannot recommend this particularly dish highly enough, even more so than the restaurant as a whole, which I recommend very, very highly.
The last dish was fish, the particular variety of which I cannot recall other than that it was a locally sourced whitefish (I do not think it was hake, but I may be wrong), which was perfectly cooked. I only had a single bite, so I cannot speak to it more than to say my sister, who has impeccable taste, loved it.
For dessert, we had a funnel cake-like Italian fried dough that was really tasty, with a crunchy exterior and just a little bit of dough inside the thin strands to provide a little chewiness. We also had a poached pear with chocolate mousse dish that was fine, but a little too rich for me; it was clearly well done in every way, just not my thing.
The wines we had were great (picked by my sister in the case of the white wine we had), and the owner was good enough to suggest a red wine that was significantly cheaper than what had been the previous choice. That was just the beginning of the great service, and once again, I really cannot speak highly enough of this entire experience. If you find yourself in Portland, this is a very reasonably priced, very well executed restaurant with spectacular food; just make a reservation, since there are so few seats. The owners are both veterans of a Daniel Boulud restaurant in NYC, so they have the pedigree to explain their excellence.
I do not think vegetarians would be successful here, though they may be willing to make something special; if they do, I have no doubt it will be delicious.
Showing posts with label Pasta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pasta. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Viva Fresh Pasta Company (Northampton, MA)
It's not often that I get excited by Italian restaurants anymore, as they all tend to kind of run together; some pasta, some Marsala, some veal...it's all fine, but it's nothing special. But, every once in a while, you find a place that just does things a cut above, and Viva Fresh Pasta Company, a longtime staple of downtown Northampton, is one of those places.
As the name suggests, Viva (typically just known as Fresh Pasta Company; in fact, despite the giant sign over the door saying "VIVA" I did not actually know it was part of the restaurant's name until recently) focuses on providing fresh, house made pastas, while offering Italian and other European/Mediterranean inspired cuisine. The menu is limited, offering just a handful of appetizers, entrees and "tapas" plates, but they also have a "create your own" section, where you can pick from ten or so pastas (including stuffed), a dozen sauces, and several add ons such as vegetables and proteins. The entrees that include pasta also allow you to pick which type you want.
The restaurant itself is split between a small upstairs with approximately ten tables and a small bar, and a slightly larger downstairs, with probably twice as much room. It is simply decorated, well lit, but not glaringly bright by any means, and it is comfortable for anything from a dinner date to a business lunch or for grabbing a bite to eat with family or friends. The wait staff is friendly and attentive, and even though my date and I were the only people in the downstairs for the majority of our meal, it never seemed like we had been forgotten.
I had the Carbonara, a classic Italian preparation that involves crispy Pancetta (a personal favorite of mine), cream, sauteed onions, Parmesan cheese (not sure if they use real Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it would certainly not shock me if they do), pepper and, most importantly, a whole egg that is mixed into the pasta and sauce at the last second. I had this with linguine, which is not traditional, but I really enjoy a well made linguine and think that it works well with cheesier, clingy sauces like carbonara. It was perfectly prepared, with a creamy sauce that clung to the pasta beautifully, with a strong flavor of the cheese, and a texture that can only come from expertly mixing in the egg so that it does not really cook until it is incorporated, so it is more like a sauce Hollandaise than an actual cooked egg. The pancetta, of which there were small cubes about 1cm in size, was crispy on the exterior and delightfully chewy inside, with a saltiness and savoriness that just warmed my pork loving heart. It did not seem like a huge amount of food when it came out, but it was so incredibly rich that I could not even finish it, and ended up taking a small amount home, which served nicely as a late night snack later that evening. The girl I was having dinner with had the same result, as her Sweet Potato Ravioli was also rich enough that she ended up taking home about five of the dozen or so ravioli it came with.
As I said before, it is hard to excite me with Italian food, but Viva Fresh Pasta Company does it, and while it had been a while since I had been there before this most recent trip, I suspect I will be going back soon. They are vegetarian friendly for you non-carnivorous types, though not remotely vegan friendly (that's okay with me, veganism is just wrong) and they are highly recommended regardless of your gustatory preferences.
******
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As the name suggests, Viva (typically just known as Fresh Pasta Company; in fact, despite the giant sign over the door saying "VIVA" I did not actually know it was part of the restaurant's name until recently) focuses on providing fresh, house made pastas, while offering Italian and other European/Mediterranean inspired cuisine. The menu is limited, offering just a handful of appetizers, entrees and "tapas" plates, but they also have a "create your own" section, where you can pick from ten or so pastas (including stuffed), a dozen sauces, and several add ons such as vegetables and proteins. The entrees that include pasta also allow you to pick which type you want.
The restaurant itself is split between a small upstairs with approximately ten tables and a small bar, and a slightly larger downstairs, with probably twice as much room. It is simply decorated, well lit, but not glaringly bright by any means, and it is comfortable for anything from a dinner date to a business lunch or for grabbing a bite to eat with family or friends. The wait staff is friendly and attentive, and even though my date and I were the only people in the downstairs for the majority of our meal, it never seemed like we had been forgotten.
I had the Carbonara, a classic Italian preparation that involves crispy Pancetta (a personal favorite of mine), cream, sauteed onions, Parmesan cheese (not sure if they use real Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it would certainly not shock me if they do), pepper and, most importantly, a whole egg that is mixed into the pasta and sauce at the last second. I had this with linguine, which is not traditional, but I really enjoy a well made linguine and think that it works well with cheesier, clingy sauces like carbonara. It was perfectly prepared, with a creamy sauce that clung to the pasta beautifully, with a strong flavor of the cheese, and a texture that can only come from expertly mixing in the egg so that it does not really cook until it is incorporated, so it is more like a sauce Hollandaise than an actual cooked egg. The pancetta, of which there were small cubes about 1cm in size, was crispy on the exterior and delightfully chewy inside, with a saltiness and savoriness that just warmed my pork loving heart. It did not seem like a huge amount of food when it came out, but it was so incredibly rich that I could not even finish it, and ended up taking a small amount home, which served nicely as a late night snack later that evening. The girl I was having dinner with had the same result, as her Sweet Potato Ravioli was also rich enough that she ended up taking home about five of the dozen or so ravioli it came with.
As I said before, it is hard to excite me with Italian food, but Viva Fresh Pasta Company does it, and while it had been a while since I had been there before this most recent trip, I suspect I will be going back soon. They are vegetarian friendly for you non-carnivorous types, though not remotely vegan friendly (that's okay with me, veganism is just wrong) and they are highly recommended regardless of your gustatory preferences.
******
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