Five Stars through and through! Absolutely amazing little restaurant! I came here with my parents about 2 weeks ago for an early dinner. We were among the only diners - probably about 2 other tables dining at that time - it was only 5:30! We were seated promptly (of course), and our friendly waitress came to open our wine and talk about the menu. By the time we left, there were people waiting for their tables, and it was a full house - not an empty table in sight!
There was a specials menu, which looked amazing, and some outstanding looking dishes on their regular menu too. I suggested that we order family style and share our dishes - my father at first chided me that 'Family Style' is usually for Chinese Food Restaurants, but after a couple minutes wrestling with what to order, saw the beauty of my plan.
The atmosphere is sweet - it's a long and narrow restaurant, only 3 tables across, and about 10 in length - there's a cute 6-top table in the window by the street, what a great seat that could be in the snowy wintery months! The vibe is intimate and simple - it's not too loud, and the waitstaff and friendly and helpful. During dinner, the GM (and a former chef) came out to talk about a special truffle night they're having later this month (...drool), and to discuss the ingredients they use - I love that! All the wine glasses were etched with the emblem from a local winery, it looks like they offer bottles from this winery if you didn't bring your own.
Onto what matters, the food:
Like I mentioned, we ordered a bunch and shared family style. The one exception was the soup, my dad wanted the Zuppa di Cipolle (Special November 2018 / Onion Soup), but I had to do my Yelpful duty and taste it. Twice. It was phenomenal. An upscale version of your typical pub style french onion, served with a small amount of bread and fontina cheese - the soup was robust, warm, and the perfect amount of balance of saltiness and onioney goodness. I wish we all ordered it for myself - so good! The portion was a perfect size, not too overwhelming!
As an appetizer we ordered the Octopus, or Polipo Grigliato : Octopus, eggplant, olives, fennel purée. I was surprised this dish was served cold - I normally love octopus, but wasn't the biggest fan of this one personally. I'm thinking it was the temperature, that really threw me for a loop - but my parents loved it.
All pastas are made fresh, daily, by hand. We ordered two (again, just fulfilling my Yelpful duties over here. (#selfless). The first was the Fettuccini con Cioccolato e Ragu di Cinghiale. This was a wild boar ragu, and was amazing. The pasta was perfectly al dente and wonderfully flavored. The ragu was thick and meaty - perfection. (For the record: fettuccini, cocoa powder, wild boar ragu).
The second pasta we ordered was the Tagliolini con tartufo Nero e fontina. I saw this on the menu and KNEW I had to have it. The big chunky mushrooms and sauce in general were drool worthy, but then fresh truffles were shaved above our dish once it was brought to the table - a showstopper. Does it get any better? This was one of the best dishes of the evening and I practically licked my plate once the pasta disappeared. (For the record: tagliolini, black truffles, fontina).
The last dish we ordered was another November 2018 Special - the Brasato di Manzo. This was again, perfection. Grass-fed beef short ribs, Barbera d'Asti Wine, roasted vegetables, fontina and taleggio polenta. That polenta was bomb, the short rib was fall-apart tender, and the wine reduction was amazing. Looks like I forgot to take a photo of it, but we demolished that dish in record time!
We were about to call it a night when they brought out the dessert menu. The standard italian desserts were listed, but our waitress mentioned a table-side tiramisu. Well... you know where the story is going. We opted for some coffees and the tiramisu. Normally I'm not the biggest fan of tiramisu because I find it meh due to subpar ingredients. This bad boy was anything but. Fresh baked ladyfingers, drenched in freshly brewed italian espresso, covered in a mascarpone cheese (using only the best ingredients, of course), and all given a healthy dusting of cocoa powder. Thankfully for us, there were 3 ladyfingers - otherwise it would have been a fight to the death for the last bite. This was BADASS tiramisu. Absolutely amazing. Don't hesitate to order. I'm salivating just thinking about it.
ITA101 is a true farm to table restaurant, as their website boasts, Chef Kevin only use high quality, in-season, fresh ingredients. Only organic eggs and produce, sustainable fish and meats, and high-quality flour create amazing dishes. Definitely make a reservation well in advance, this place is about to be the new local favorite! BYOB is always a plus, bring a bottle or two, and get ready for an amazing meal! read more