Luci Ancora 3/11/11

As we entered the quaint dining room there were a couple new little lives out on, possibly their first, dinner date with Mom & Dad; melted my heart a little to remember that time with my son. The menu was simple but each item was so delectably described we were buried in the menu and almost forgot to look at the wine list, gasp! We eventually chose a 2009 Torres Vina Esmeralda moscato-gewurztraminer $27. A nice crisp wine, not as sweet as you would think by the moscato-gewurztraminer blend. Our server explained the Chef’s Selections for the day, which you can get as a 4 course tasting menu, but I chose to stick with the menu I had been already salivating over.

Antipasti Polenta- Flash Fried Polenta served with Sausage, Sundried Tomato and Cream $10

I described it as the “epitome of Italy”. The crunch of the polenta, the spicy sausage, the texture of the sundried tomato and richness of the cream just mingled in my mouth like the perfect little taste of Italy.

Primi Piatti Garganelli- Tender tubular pasta tossed with Asparagus, Bacon and Four Cheeses (Spanish Blue, Triple Cream, Parmesan and Ricotta) $12

Anything with bacon has to be good! The flavors of this dish were a great mix; the texture, saltiness of the bacon and mix of cheeses. I was a bit nervous about the Blue cheese possibly being too strong but there was the perfect subtle note of Blue in each bite. It was truly a very rich pasta dish.

DESSERT- Blueberry cheesecake with a lemon sauce- MMMMMM!

Then of course Clare and I sat and talked for WAY too long, but our server brought us a sample of a great dessert wine (a Birbettes), which I probably would have never tried otherwise. It was a red dessert wine with just a bit of effervescent, fabulous!

Overall, can’t wait to go back and bring more friends and family!

Clare Marie

First, Tina, what a great explanation of our wonderful evening! Everything we ordered was equally tasted and enjoyed. I have to laugh at us because it was hard to "work" when we were having such a great time! We would take a bite...or two of our meals and then remind ourselves to take a picture and we totally passed the whole appetizer pictures. Whoops...I assure you that documentation will come easier for us as time goes on!

Soup: I enjoyed the broccoli and cheese soup. You can always tell how great a chef is by their soups. The waiter described the soup as a broccoli puree, but it had way too much texture to correspond with that description. The flavors were wonderful! The soup I would definitely order again. Tina, I know, enjoyed it because I offered her to try it and ate the whole thing without blinking ha~ha

Second Piatti -Manzo Brasato Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs sweet pea puree and Malfati Pasta $18

I cannot describe how light this entree felt! The noodles were so unique! They reminded me of thin-thin lasagna noodles. The noodles basically added flavor with the sweet pea puree with minimal texture. It added to the beef without taking any focus away from the melting in your mouth beef. I used a butter knife or even just a fork to eat the beef! NO STEAK KNIFE NEEDED! Each bite was slowly appreciated. (I am going to vote that my entree was better, just saying) Tina's WAS delicious, but I would have to agree with Tina on the richness of her dish. It wasn't bad by any means, just heavy and hearty.

Overall, I am eager to bring my husband here on a date night because I feel he would just enjoy the elegant feel. However, I also got a "down to earth" feel that a casual outing would be just as enjoyable. I felt very warm and welcomed. The service was really great. I never felt like we were looking for our waiter or that he bugged us in anyway. The food is worth coming back for and the wine selection wasn't too shabby. Definitely, was a well deserved evening for two hard working mothers!