February 28, 2001
- $25 AND UNDER
Locanda Vini & Olii: In an Old Apothecary, a Cure
for the Common Trattoria
By ERIC ASIMOV
WHEN I visit a restaurant for the first time, I
almost always enter believing I'm going to
enjoy my meal. But once in a while I sense that
a place is going to be special, and that's how I felt about
Locanda Vini & Olii, a mom- and-pop trattoria that opened
a month ago in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
The beautiful space, which had been a pharmacy for 130
years, certainly contributed to this feeling. The woodwork
has been lovingly restored, and many old features have
been left intact, like small wooden apothecary drawers, set
sideways into the wall for holding supplies, and rolling
wood ladders and old counters used for a small bar and to
display desserts.
Care seems to have been given to every detail, including the overhead lights, dim enough to
create a moody ambience yet illuminating each table perfectly. The wine lists are glued to
bottles, one for white, one for red, as if they were labels.
Even so, if it were one more trattoria with the same old food, no matter how attractive, it
would provoke yawns. But Locanda's menu is full of dishes perhaps unsettling to those
expecting the standard issue. Clearly, it is the personal expression of the owners, François
Louy, from Milan, who was a manager for the Cipriani restaurants, and his wife, Catherine
de Zagon Louy, from Florence, who was a manager at Balthazar.
Starting with the fragrant Tuscan bread, made without salt, the Louys do things their own
way. Instead of a dish of olive oil, they set out arugula blended with pine nuts and oil like a
pesto, nicely bitter and just right with the bread.
Appetizers may be as unexpected as tongue marinated in white wine and herbs, boiled, thinly
sliced and sautéed until mellow and nutty and served with a parsley sauce ($7). Or bresaola
with pears ($7.75), a play on prosciutto with melon using fine air- dried beef and an
unsweetened pear sauce. Shrimp are served with wonderful chickpeas flavored with
rosemary ($8).
Some appetizers are meant to be shared, like the seafood charcuterie ($12), which includes
thick rounds of soft tuna sausage and tender, paper- thin slices of octopus, or slices of
venison cacciatorino ($10), an intense hard salami served with earthy chicken liver crostini.
Superb choices abound among the pastas, which are almost all made by Luigi Ghidetti, who
shares chef duties with Michele Baldacci. I love the maltagliati ($8), fat strands of
carrot-colored pasta in a light ricotta sauce with soft fava beans, diced prosciutto and plenty
of sage. Little lasagna noodles made with chestnut flour go beautifully with a chickpea and
sausage sauce ($9), as does penne with a creamy walnut sauce ($8.50) and guitar-string
pasta with a Sicilian sauce of mashed sardine, dill and raisins ($9.50).
Not quite as exciting but still delicious are fat ropes of pici, an eggless pasta, with porcini
mushroom sauce ($8), and pappardelle with a robust duck ragù ($9).
Beyond pasta, Locanda offers a small, changing selection of main courses like tender braised
pork ribs ($14), with roasted potatoes, or excellent braised lamb ($16), baked in a small
round bread.
The small list of wines includes some excellent choices from little- known producers,
including Barbera del Monferrato from Accornero ($22) and a light but flavorful red from
Ercole Velenosi ($26) in the Marches. Mr. Louy eagerly makes recommendations.
Desserts ($5) may be the weak link, yet they too are enticing. A dense chocolate tart was too
dry, but I loved ricotta-and-almond cheesecake flavored with rose water, and the best dessert
may have been the simplest: small circular biscotti, flavored with anise and barely sweet.
It's a thrill to find a restaurant like Locanda Vini & Olii, where decisions are not made
according to formula and marketing concerns. Passion rules here, and it is evident in almost
every bite.
Locanda Vini & Olii
129 Gates Avenue at Cambridge Place, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn; (718) 622-9202.
BEST DISHES: Tongue with parsley sauce, bresaola with pears, shrimp with chickpeas,
seafood charcuterie, venison cacciatorino, carrot maltagliata, chestnut lasagnette, penne with
walnut sauce, pasta con le sarde, pappardelle with duck ragù, pici with porcinis, braised pork
ribs, braised lamb, ricotta cheesecake with rose water, biscotti.
PRICE RANGE: Appetizers, $5 to $8; main courses, $6 to $16.
CREDIT CARDS: Cash only.
HOURS: Tuesday through Thursday, 6 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, to 11:30;
Sunday, to 10. Closed Monday.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Two steps at entrance; restroom is narrow.
i,m ready to go!!!
We had some diner plans for tonight. But is any one feeling interpid ? I still can't quite get a bead on what this strom promises for today/tonight ?
options include :
a) they are closed cause of storm
b) some of us are feeling intedpid and take various routes
to get there via car (?), mass transit, carservice, etc.
c) too complicated and we reschedule for next tues (?) or other date that complies with various scheds
d) I can fit two other folks in my truck and we brave it
expodition style(actually just a F150).
|
Locanda Vini & Olii: In an Old Apothecary, a Cure for the Common Trattoria
By ERIC ASIMOV
WHEN I visit a restaurant for the first time, I almost always enter believing I'm going to enjoy my meal. But once in a while I sense that a place is going to be special, and that's how I felt about Locanda Vini & Olii, a mom- and-pop trattoria that opened a month ago in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
The beautiful space, which had been a pharmacy for 130 years, certainly contributed to this feeling. The woodwork has been lovingly restored, and many old features have been left intact, like small wooden apothecary drawers, set sideways into the wall for holding supplies, and rolling wood ladders and old counters used for a small bar and to display desserts.
Care seems to have been given to every detail, including the overhead lights, dim enough to create a moody ambience yet illuminating each table perfectly. The wine lists are glued to bottles, one for white, one for red, as if they were labels.
Even so, if it were one more trattoria with the same old food, no matter how attractive, it would provoke yawns. But Locanda's menu is full of dishes perhaps unsettling to those expecting the standard issue. Clearly, it is the personal expression of the owners, François Louy, from Milan, who was a manager for the Cipriani restaurants, and his wife, Catherine de Zagon Louy, from Florence, who was a manager at Balthazar.
Starting with the fragrant Tuscan bread, made without salt, the Louys do things their own way. Instead of a dish of olive oil, they set out arugula blended with pine nuts and oil like a pesto, nicely bitter and just right with the bread.
Appetizers may be as unexpected as tongue marinated in white wine and herbs, boiled, thinly sliced and sautéed until mellow and nutty and served with a parsley sauce ($7). Or bresaola with pears ($7.75), a play on prosciutto with melon using fine air- dried beef and an unsweetened pear sauce. Shrimp are served with wonderful chickpeas flavored with rosemary ($8).
Some appetizers are meant to be shared, like the seafood charcuterie ($12), which includes thick rounds of soft tuna sausage and tender, paper- thin slices of octopus, or slices of venison cacciatorino ($10), an intense hard salami served with earthy chicken liver crostini.
Superb choices abound among the pastas, which are almost all made by Luigi Ghidetti, who shares chef duties with Michele Baldacci. I love the maltagliati ($8), fat strands of carrot-colored pasta in a light ricotta sauce with soft fava beans, diced prosciutto and plenty of sage. Little lasagna noodles made with chestnut flour go beautifully with a chickpea and sausage sauce ($9), as does penne with a creamy walnut sauce ($8.50) and guitar-string pasta with a Sicilian sauce of mashed sardine, dill and raisins ($9.50).
Not quite as exciting but still delicious are fat ropes of pici, an eggless pasta, with porcini mushroom sauce ($8), and pappardelle with a robust duck ragù ($9).
Beyond pasta, Locanda offers a small, changing selection of main courses like tender braised pork ribs ($14), with roasted potatoes, or excellent braised lamb ($16), baked in a small round bread.
The small list of wines includes some excellent choices from little- known producers, including Barbera del Monferrato from Accornero ($22) and a light but flavorful red from Ercole Velenosi ($26) in the Marches. Mr. Louy eagerly makes recommendations.
Desserts ($5) may be the weak link, yet they too are enticing. A dense chocolate tart was too dry, but I loved ricotta-and-almond cheesecake flavored with rose water, and the best dessert may have been the simplest: small circular biscotti, flavored with anise and barely sweet.
It's a thrill to find a restaurant like Locanda Vini & Olii, where decisions are not made according to formula and marketing concerns. Passion rules here, and it is evident in almost every bite.
Locanda Vini & Olii
129 Gates Avenue at Cambridge Place, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn; (718) 622-9202.
BEST DISHES: Tongue with parsley sauce, bresaola with pears, shrimp with chickpeas, seafood charcuterie, venison cacciatorino, carrot maltagliata, chestnut lasagnette, penne with walnut sauce, pasta con le sarde, pappardelle with duck ragù, pici with porcinis, braised pork ribs, braised lamb, ricotta cheesecake with rose water, biscotti.
PRICE RANGE: Appetizers, $5 to $8; main courses, $6 to $16.
CREDIT CARDS: Cash only.
HOURS: Tuesday through Thursday, 6 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, to 11:30; Sunday, to 10. Closed Monday.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Two steps at entrance; restroom is narrow.
- bill 2-28-2001 9:17 pm
i,m ready to go!!!
- Skinny 2-28-2001 11:17 pm [add a comment]
We had some diner plans for tonight. But is any one feeling interpid ? I still can't quite get a bead on what this strom promises for today/tonight ? options include :
a) they are closed cause of storm
b) some of us are feeling intedpid and take various routes to get there via car (?), mass transit, carservice, etc.
c) too complicated and we reschedule for next tues (?) or other date that complies with various scheds
d) I can fit two other folks in my truck and we brave it expodition style(actually just a F150).
- bill 3-06-2001 6:19 pm [add a comment]
F150? That's a sweet truck. I could maybe be brave, but I vote for rescheduling for when more of us (especially Mike) can go.
- jim 3-06-2001 6:43 pm [add a comment]
13th is good for me
- Skinny 3-06-2001 7:44 pm [add a comment]
"I'll book it" - Dano
- bill 3-06-2001 8:00 pm [add a comment]
Sounds good to me. I'd be willing tonight, but I think Bill would end up with the rough trip. Looks like I'll be bailing out of here early, at least.
- alex 3-06-2001 8:18 pm [add a comment]
Booked the 13th for party of 6 for 8:30. We can adjust size as needed, so chime in if your in. They say the C train is good : get in first train car (closer to Washington st exit) and go to Clinton/Washington St stop. 1 block down Washington to Gates st. Right 2 blocks to corner of Gates/Camberage.
- bill 3-06-2001 9:04 pm [add a comment]
count me in please.
- linda 3-06-2001 10:21 pm [add a comment]
is it possible at an earlier time--what do others think??--also i may not be able to do this than the movie the next night--love the old man
- Skinny 3-07-2001 3:29 am [add a comment]
What time is good for you dude ?
- bill 3-07-2001 6:06 pm [add a comment]
i will go whenever all want but was wondering what others think--7:30/8 is better for me but if its best for all 8:30 that i will be there!!
- Skinny 3-08-2001 6:18 am [add a comment]
I think we without time restriction should accomodate anyone with time restrictions. So if anyone would like to second that, I'll call it in. -ciao for niao
- bill 3-08-2001 7:14 pm [add a comment]
7:30/8:00 would be nice - it is a school nite.
- linda 3-08-2001 8:36 pm [add a comment]
I just checked in and 7:30 was not available, best they could do is8:00 So I took that - very sorry, (somewhere I had gotten the misimpression later was better) but duely noted.
- bill 3-08-2001 8:57 pm [3 comment]