Especially recommended by Mr. Besa was the Crema ai Porcini
soup, indeed worth it. And an appetizer of farm-fresh asparagus
in little bundles wrapped in smoked salmon, with a dill mustard
dressing. The most-requested entrie is Involtini con Polenta,
the chef's personal choice: slices of beef rolled up in mortadella
and Parmesan cheese, served with polenta (the thick cornmeal
''porridge'' from Northern Italy). We'd recommend it too.
There are pizzas--sure proof that the crowd is young--with
salami Milano and smoked cheese, pesto with eggplant cubes,
vegetarian, gorgonzola with porcini mushrooms, lamb strips
with pecorino, ricotta and smoked cheese. And pastas galore:
linguine with Parma ham, asparagus, cream sauce; with an
eggplant ragu; with tuna, tomatoes and calamata olives; stuffed
with lamb and ricotta cheese in tomato sauce; with marinated
zucchini and spiced chicken; squid ink fettuccine; tortellini filled
with crabmeat.
Risotto I find hard to resist--wet or dry (regional differences).
Italians treat rice like pasta, and therefore cook it al dente, and
give it sauces of many flavors. Do you want yours with Italian
luganeghe sausages and wild porcini mushrooms? With shrimp
and white wine? With asparagus, Italian herbs and grilled
chicken?
My friends and I had a real problem about going beyond an
appetizer or salad and a pasta. And to think that pasta dishes
are only considered first courses (the appetizer is not counted),
and the second courses are what stamp the meal in memory:
oven-baked lamb leg, pork scaloppini ` la Marsala, sole
simmered in white wine, and of course grilled steaks, chops,
king prawns. Where does one locate antipasti and insulate and
minestre (soups)? And how does one manage desserts?
By returning another time, I guess, and eating carefully in order
to try Crostata (pie filled with tart mango cream), panna cotta,
Ciocolato della Nonna (which lays claim to being ''the most
deliciously sinful chocolate cake in towns), and the inevitable
Tiramisu. Does anyone know what the authentic Tiramisu is?
What the best is among the few hundred varieties found in this
sweet-toothed town?
At both restaurants we ate well. At L'Opera I felt like an opera
singer just back from singing ''Aida,'' perhaps; or an opera fan
discussing the performance note by note. At Il Ponticello I felt
like a character in an Italian movie, absorbed in past joys or in
present pleasure. Either way, good feelings.
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