Basics like lasagna have been left off the menu, but you’ll never miss them
If it’s been awhile since you’ve eaten at Il Piatto, that little Italian restaurant just down the block from City Hall, put it back on your “A” list. Never had lunch or dinner at Il Piatto? Now’s the time.
Three of us had an exceptionally good meal here last week, and some of the food rose to fabulous. The happy and well-informed service added to our enjoyment. Yes, the place is crowded and noisy, but that urban buzz rarely found in Santa Fe adds to the fun.
In addition to the regular menu with antipasto, pasta, soup, salads, meat and fish, we received the daily special menu and a multi-page wine list with many Italian varieties. The staff also posts the specials on an old-fashioned blackboard. Our server, Corey, knew the menus well and answered our questions without missing a beat. We had better service here than we’ve had in many more expensive places.
The three of us loved everything we sampled for dinner, from soup to dessert. Il Piatto offers an abundance of choices, and Corey especially recommended the duck and the scallops. The seared sea scallop rosetta salad ($14), one of the specials, was a winner. Because they are thick, sea scallops have a tendency to stay soft in the center — sometimes a little too soft. Il Piatto solved the problem by slicing them for this beautiful salad. The kitchen arranged the scallops, grilled to a pleasant outside crispness, in a star on a plate with sliced fennel, orange segments, almonds and tomato confit. Delicious.
Also fabulous from the specials menu was the veal cutlet Milanaise ($27). The meat, tender and lightly breaded, tasted ever better because of the unusual caviar sauce made with flying fish roe and the topping of fresh crab (REAL crab) and asparagus. My friend proclaimed it the highlight of the meal.
Il Piatto showcases pastas, including many selections with seafood, vegetarian options and their take on the classic Bolognese meat and tomato sauce. You’ll find so many choices, you might not even notice that spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna aren’t served. With so many other creative choices, who would miss them? The evening’s special had two pastas, seafood cannelloni with lobster sauce ($14) and roasted beet fettuccini ($12) which Corey told us had been drawing rave reviews all evening. Indeed, it was a knockout! The fettuccini came in a lovely deep pink color from the beets. Big slices of yellow and orange peppers roasted to juicy softness and grilled radicchio kept it company. The sauce had a nice spiciness to it without overwhelming the slightly sweet flavor of the noodles. The only problem with it was that the soft pasta clumped together.
We also sampled the good, fresh spaghetti, which came as a side to the Sardinian seafood casserole ($12). No sardines here, but clams, shrimp, squid and octopus, all together in a robust seafood stew that was a bit too strong on the tomato flavor. The asparagus bisque, finished with créme fraiche and a dollop of truffle oil, tasted fresh and rich ($9) and the duck confit risotto ($11) was hearty and satisfying, a winter dish.
We shared a rich zabaglione, a soft custard finished with strawberries and balsamic vinegar ($8) and sipped a cappuccino and a latte — a lovely end to a lovely meal. The bill for dinner for three — two entrees, a soup, three appetizers, iced tea and two fancy coffees, was $107 before tax and tip.
Il Piatto
WHERE: 96 W. Marcy St., Santa Fe, 984-1091.
FOOD: Italian. Beer and wine available.
PRICES: Most dinner entrees $17-$26.
SERVICE: Very good.
AMBIANCE: Welcomingly busy.
HOURS: Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30-2 p.m.; dinner nightly beginning at 5:30 p.m.
