Eastside Road, July 31, 2010—
A CELEBRATION TONIGHT for the return of health, with a couple of friends we hadn't seen in some time, in an Italian restaurant we quite liked in an earlier incarnation but hadn't yet visited in its present one.I ordered and ate too much, of course; but I'm really trying hard to get back in shape. A mangiatore has to maintain a certain physique, and that requires dedication and discipline. Since it's the last day of the month, a full calendar month since I was felled by unseen forces, it seemed appropriate to dig in: dig in I did.
I began with an order of polenta with Fontina from the Val d'Aosta, deliciously flavored by the wood-burning oven in which it was finished. Then a lamb shank — the lamb from our county is always reliable — slow-braised and served with fregole, black olives, wilted escarole, and gremolata. Chunks of ricotta salata were strewn about the dish: they seemed irrelevant, and I picked them out and ate them separately. (They were good.) Afterward, "baby" lettuces in a balsamic-olive oil dressing. A very delicious and nutritious and, I hope, weight-gaining dinner.
Grecanico, Di Giovanna (Sicily), 2008: fruity, serious, substantial, though only 12.5%; Valpolicella ripasso, Santi (?) (failed to take notes: I'm new to this wine-drinking business
No comments:
Post a Comment