s. C.
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What's all that pasta doing hanging around on racks just inside the restaurant's kitchen window? And are they closed or was the restaurant's observed emptiness just a dream? As popular as this place is supposed to be, we walked through the door to find that we were far outnumbered by the single in count waitress and trio of kitchen staff. Rather surreal considering the aforementioned though it was 2:30 in the afternoon. We chose a nice bright table in the middle of the room and felt as though we had full command of the place with the singular attention of the only waitress there.
The lunch menu is actually slim pickins in terms of entrees in sheer selection quantity. However, we found a dish of seared scallops over linguine with sauteed baby spinach and a lemon, butter, caper sauce that stood out on the menu like a close-up in an old b&w film noir where the villain's eyes are suddenly box highlighted in a dimly lit room. We really had a yearning for some shrimp as well though and had out waitress gain approval from the chef for the addition. I figured it would be no problem. That is just one of the advantages of patronizing a chef run kitchen. Requests for changes to a dish, within reason, are as welcomed as they are tolerated.
After the waitress plied us with her stand up comedy routine asking why a chicken coupe has 2 doors and answering that it would be a sedan if it had four, we groaned and chuckled with courtesy smiles. Shortly, we received two hunks of flat bread, rather an oxymoron as the hefty bread hunks were anything but flat, on a plate of hummus and oil reminiscent of a child's finger paint rendered smear to dredge the bread through. I had my bread freak flag flying after that baker's delight and just had to request another round. This time the flat bread was adorned with a green parsnip coating on one end and the same hummus and olive oil smear. They are big on smears here. Here we go again filling up on delicious bread before the meal!!
The "plated" bowls of perfectly seared scallops with our grilled shrimp addition would make first cut for a Gourmet magazine cover. Considering our bread consumption, I was happy not to have ordered from the antipasti or insalate offerings once the generous contents of our pasta bowls was observed.
Never, and I will say it again for effect, never have I had scallops that were as pleasingly unctuous, perfectly done just through, and as tender as a bite of the lightest of pates. The crustaceans were grilled VIPs, yet they could not steal the red carpet runway from under these enormous sea scallops. And of course the handmade pasta (no longer hanging in the window) was perfect in its sauce limone and larger Spanish capers that brightened the spinach as well as the dish in general (though my wife thought it was a smidgen too much pucker power for her).
A setting of flutes for two filled with Bosco Del Merlot prosecco was gleefully and gratuitously presented by our comedic waitress upon learning that this was a birthday lunch. She also led our little glee club trio in an off-key but jovial performance of Happy Birthday. Nice!
If this was really a day dream (a.k.a., Il sogno), I wanted to continue the moment, somnambulating through a sunlit garden, noshing my way through floating plates of steaming pasta piled high with browned, buttery scallops that jump into your mouth upon command. Tuxedoed waiters standing at the ready with champagne buckets loaded with cold prosecco that fill your glass with a deft pour from yards away. And then, and then . . . [poof] "Your check, sir!"
