A very lively bar at the front of the restaurant gives way to a quieter dining room, decorated with picture frames surrounding botanical still lifes painted directly on the dark red walls.
The menu begins with spuntini, small plates to accompany a cocktail or glass of wine. Each is more appealing than the last. There is little to complain about when it comes to toast covered in a drift of ricotta, with figs and a drizzle of honey, except perhaps that its billing as “crostini’’ implies there will be more than one piece of bread. That would be welcome to scoop up the overload of creamy ricotta. One could eat a meal composed solely of fritters here. Spheres of potato and salt cod are fried crisp and golden, served with lemon-caper aioli. Even more delicious are rectangular chickpea fritters, which taste somewhat like falafel, intriguingly paired with sweet date compote. And best yet are arancini, rice fritters filled with gooey mozzarella and accompanied by savory tomato confit with basil. Which is not to knock the delicious meatballs of pork, beef, and ricotta, with a deeply flavorful tomato sauce, on a bed of creamy polenta. All of these will make you very happy.
But you haven’t even tried the zucchini blossoms yet. The flowers are filled with a mixture of crab meat, ricotta, and preserved lemon, three flavors that belong together, as it turns out. The parcels are fried but not heavy or oily, as squash blossoms too often are when they make their rare appearances on area menus. The preserved lemon lends the perfect note of perfume and tartness.
Best of all may be confit pork belly served with a spicy, complex red cabbage slaw. Flavors flit across your tongue - Thai chilies, cilantro, vinegar, brown sugar. The heat from the pork belly wilts the cool cabbage just a bit, and the juices from the meat mingle with the purple shreds.
