Along with plenty of seating at the wide bar, there are four tables nearby, including a low one for lounging in inviting leather chairs. The large dining room sprawled to the right and we were seated in a quiet spot in a back corner, near a private room.
I never tire of dipping bread in good olive oil, and this one was deep green on a white saucer with a little island of parmesan along one edge. The plain bread was warm and the focaccia was soft and light, which might not be the ideal for focaccia, but I liked it more than crustier versions.
We started with the Prince Edward Island mussels ($10) in wine, butter, garlic, and parsley, which couldn’t have been better. The little sea-flavored bites - most are no larger than a quarter, and coral pink - are perfect in garlic, butter, and wine sauce, and this was a spot-on rendering of that classic recipe.
The crowd on this Friday night was mixed. A middle-age couple near us ordered, ate, and left before we’d had our main course. A youngish couple to our right took it slowly over wine, and a large table of older women talked and savored many courses. The restaurant is roomy and the acoustics are great, so it’s effortless to hold a private conversation even if the dining room is crowded.
Sometimes a dish just grabs you and is the best thing you’ve eaten for weeks. That’s how the linguini all’amatriciana ($13) hit me.
Some Italian cooks swear that amatriciana cannot be great unless it’s flavored with guanciale - a cured bacon made from pig jowl - rather than the pancetta used here. But I can’t imagine how this dish could have been better. Guanciale is nearly impossible to find in this country, and pancetta added the base and richness to Porticello’s version that guanciale is purported to impart. Chunks of fresh tomatoes added texture to the thick, clingy sauce, and the heat of crushed red pepper followed a mild sweetness in the dish.
Most of Porticello’s pasta dishes can be ordered with a choice of linguini, fettuccini, penne, spaghetti, angel hair, or orecchiette.
