The owner and staff spared no expense, bringing a plate of freshly baked foccacia, literally the softest, freshest I have tasted outside of Italy, and inside a fresh sundried tomato, aside slices of Mortadelo, that oh-so delicious Italian version of bologna. This one had nuts? Pistachios? Creamy, meaty, down right tasty.
To start I chose a Barbaretto? Some lovely roll-off your spaghetti tongue name for a cocktail of Grappa, Limoncello, Sour mix, and prosecco- strong, gin-ish, and just the right mix of sweet, sour, bubbly, and liquor.The pieta for me was an eggplant puree on crostini. What looked like Chicalicious's perfectly scooped oval of ice-cream, and could have passed for patee, was actually a heavenly, perfectly spiced combination of eggplant, some undisclosed pepper (jalapeno or peperoncini, the bartender stating there is only so much the chef will divulge) for a gentle and loving kick, garlic, and who knows what other creamy delicious ingredient, making this terrifically addicting.
Tempted to fill up on aperitivos, and have a few oysters, but the oysters not being in season yet, the bartender spoke highly of the baby shark, braised in olive oil, white wine, capers, lemon, cherry tomatoes, black olives, and whole roasted mini shallots. So, I gave it a try. Texture of shark being similar to lobster, I was an instant fan, and being cooked in a fillet around the cartilage, gave it that extra touch of flavor. Here again enter the slight touch of spicy- rounding out each bite, and leaving you desiring more.
For my meal I was led to a Michelle Chiarlo 2007 Barbera D'Asti red, dry and complexly structured, not typical for fish, but was a nice balance to the meaty texture, and luscious red sauce of the shark.
The company was excellent, with neighbors who have seen this establishment change hands thrice in the past two years, but all feel very confident this slice di Napoli is here to stay.
