Archive for the Italian Category

Tucked-in the former location of the Edible Garden in Goochland County on the curvy River Road, one finds the new Italian eatery, Portico. What a beautiful sight it is, at night, with intimate small buildings dotting the property, all lit, with (on this particular warm January evening) people dining outside.

The old setup remains, with the kitchen building separate from the restaurant/bar.

What dominated the experience inside was noise; at least on a weekend evening, the atmosphere was boisterous, with loud conversation bouncing off the ceiling and wood floor. Probably not ideal, taking in the decor and intimate surroundings that glowed with soft light.

The menu was not complicated, offering a number of items any fan of Italian food would find scrumptious. Salads looked fresh, and their special mushroom soup was deliciously satisfying.

An entrée of eggplant was served, as with many dinners, with a side of cabbage and mashed potatoes. The tomato sauce was good, and definitely looked and tasted homemade.

Service wasn’t quick, but this was a busy night. A few things I think could be improved:

• noise level - in a winter season, you want to maximize the number of tables inside, I get that; but something should be done to combat the noise level in a small intimate space like this (baffling on the ceiling, or rugs);
• bread service - every Italian restaurant ought to encourage communing with bread to start the meal. When guests can nosh on bread during service delays, all is well. Sitting at an empty table with an exhausted drink, not so much.
• go gourmet - the beautiful building and surroundings seem slightly mismatched to the level of cuisine. What we ate was delicious, but lacked real gourmet polish. The sophistication level has a ceiling to expand here.

My recommendation at this point is to seek-out Portico when you’re close by, and perhaps on a weeknight. This is a great spot for locals to enjoy an aesthetic food experience in a quasi-magical setting.

Thomas Keller’s book, Ad hoc, details a method for serving green vegetables, specifically, asparagus, with a stew of tomatoes, flavored with leeks and bacon.

You start the process by cooking bacon in water to render the fat, for almost 30 minutes, until it is fully cooked. Once removed, you cook almost equal parts of leek and onion for about 7 minutes over moderate heat, add garlic, and then add a can of Italian tomatoes.

This “sauce” gets half-puréed in the food processor, then you return the chopped and chunky mixture to heat, adding back the bacon, cooking for up to 45 minutes to reduce.

Keller says this is killer over asparagus that’s been steamed in stock. He also mentions that it’s great as a topping for fish, so I combined the two.

Halibut, pan seared in butter with tarragon, is plated on top of a helping of this delicious sauce.

The sauce was delectable, both sweet, sour, and smokey. The richness of the fish was well-matched with this sauce.

I know you’ve heard of spaghetti and meatballs, but meatballs alone can be good, too.

In this case, I took a nod from Ina Garten with her recipe for meatballs that combine prosciutto, turkey, and Italian sausage, but made these more my own this time around.

The flavor profile I created was not the same as her recipe from the “How Easy is That?” cookbook, but it’s still worthy enough to mention.

• ground turkey (ratio 4:7)
• ground beef (ratio 1:7)
• mixture of sweet and spicy Italian sausage (2:7)
• bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
• fresh rosemary, chopped
• ciabatta bread, chopped
• 2 eggs
• EVOO
• dried oregano
• grated parmesan cheese
• tomato paste
• left-over crème fraiche (I would use more of another cheese if I had it, this is what I had, which helped with the egg to bind the meatballs)

The beauty of this recipe is that the meatballs get cooked in the oven on parchment paper (35 minutes at 400 degrees, test for doneness).

Throw these guys into a sauce, throw-on more cheese, and you’ve got a delicious bowl.

It’s been some years since I’ve been back to Edo’s Squid, located on Harrison Street in Richmond. The first time was soon after it opened, and the line extended outside, all the way up the stairs. That long wait tainted my memory. I remembered a good red sauce and impersonal service.

Most recently, we called ahead for a table, and the wait was minimal. Service was slow as their restaurant was extremely busy, but each server was friendly and accommodating. I am so glad I came.

We each started with appetizers which included fried calamari, caponata, red peppers and mozzarella. The loud nature of this place added to its charm and the rustic authenticity of the food. Presentation wasn’t key here, it was flavor. Things here burst forth with flavor. Delicious.

I ordered off the wall menu (the paper menu features their pastas and standard starters). Braised veal short ribs in a wine and tomato sauce with mushroom vegetables. and the invitation to dip great italian bread. Scrumptious. Truly delicious, and a well-done dish.

Friends ordered things like another special, fried quails with beans and the most fabulous garlic-fried polenta cake. It was outstanding, this polenta cake.

They also did well by their simple but flavorful presentation of seafood. Here’s the seabass, kissed with lemon, herbs, and red pepper.

We’d eaten so well, I couldn’t let the good times stop. There was a constant influx of new customers coming off those stairs and looking around to see which table might next be theirs. But they’d have to wait for the tony spot we had next to a window. With only three desserts on the menu, I couldn’t resist their offering of tiramisu.

It was well done, properly “soaked” and a celebratory end to one of the better meals I’ve had in Richmond, VA. Bravo!

I’ve written before how I like the “original Italian hero,” a prosciutto sandwich at Coppola’s Deli in Carytown. This afternoon, I made my own version of an Italian sandwich.

I used bread from The Fresh Market, specifically, a narrow baguette, which seemed ideal for a sandwich. This is their so-called “French Baguette,” and not the larger sourdough one. Since it was a day old, I performed the Ina Garten baguette trick, whereby I moisten the exterior of the loaf in water, and place it in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. It comes out warm of course, and some how magically “refreshed” from a light steaming.

Split the baguette into two halves. The size of this one negates the removal of any interior bread.

• pesto (with basil)
• balsamic vinegar
• sopressata
• fresh mozzarella
• roasted red pepper
• salt

One side of the bread gets the pesto and salt, the other gets the vinegar dressing. Layer the ingredients, cut each portion into two halves. Serve with chips.

Simple, yet delicious.