My husband and I stopped in here a few weeks ago for a round of after-dinner drinks post-Bindaas. I know what you’re thinking: What?! This chick NEVER eats carbs!!! And that’s entirely fair. But I was lured into dinner here by their case full of beautiful, homemade pastas. So, without further ado, I bring you…CARBS!
The burrata salad was a last-second decision. It was not the meltiest of cheeses I’ve eaten lately, but it was creamy and cool, and I liked the pairing of the juicy beets with fresh basil. There was plenty for everyone. I may soon be recreating this at home.
Grandma wanted the dish that would most closely approximate spaghetti and meatballs. Adventurous palate, that one. I recommended the gnocchi bolognese. The gnocchi were tiny and plush and the bolognese sauce was a classic. Meat. Potatoes. Sauce. That’s all we need to know here.
My father-in-law had the lamb and scamorza ravioli. It was not super meat-heavy, nor super-lamby but definitely interesting and well-composed. He was extremely happy with it and totally devoured it.
I got the cavatelli al salmone. The pasta had an incredible density and texture and the balance between pasta, veggies, and salmon was perfect. I could get my pasta fix while still feeling virtuous about my vegetable consumption. Plus, I love broccoli rabe.
That brings us to the two show-stoppers: my husband’s pappardelle all’agnello and the dark horse, my mother-in-law’s spinach agnolotti. Once again with this pappardelle, the lamb was so tender but not super potent. Great pasta, huge portion, super-savory sauce. This one had it all.
The agnolotti was crazy good. CRAZY. It was so rich but I couldn’t stop taking tastes of this and pretending that it was my last time. It was just creamy and cheesy and carby. All the good things.
While the lame people among us ended the night with cappuccinos, the other three of us took Trattoria Al Volo up on their offer of a flight of amaro.
We keep Montenegro at home but I’ve never tried it alone, nor cold, and it was kind of life-changing. The second one was Cynar, and side-note, I just now learned that it’s pronounced “chee-nar” and not “sigh-nar.” D’oh. I also learned that the green vegetable on the bottle is, in fact, an artichoke and not the hops bud I thought it was. The Ramazzotti was served room-temp and was my least favorite of the three despite my freakish obsession with all things licorice.
Price: $40 per person.
Bottom line: Trattoria Al Volo is all about super-traditional Italian but they pull it off well. They run the gamut from boring to extraordinary but sometimes that’s perfect.
Ward Five Foodie 