My childhood in Boston was not marked by alot of great fine dining experiences. Mostly, I remember the torture of being force fed canned vegetables and my mother's uninspired, bland meals. When we did go out to dinner, it was always Italian. This was Boston, after all, a city divided by the Irish and Italians. If the Irish controlled the political machine, the Italians controlled the gastronomy.
As an adult, I just don't gravitate to Italian restaurants. Sure, Ecco is one of my favorite restaurants, but it is not so much "Italian" in the italicized sense of the word. At least, it's not the Italian food of my childhood. But there's a (relatively) new restaurant in Atlanta that has re-ignited my love for Italian food. I've only been there twice: the first time with the previously mentioned, always entertaining Brad and his partner, the disarming scholar, Eric. Now, when Brad & Eric aren't in Atlanta, they reside in Rome...Italy (not Georgia). So, when they start raving about a new Italian restaurant in Atlanta, you better take it seriously.
La Pietra Cucina opened in a tiny spot in midtown and quickly earned a reputation among foodies as the "go-to" restaurant in town. The Chef, who previously worked at Babbo in New York, is known for his simple, Italian cooking, done with a modern edge. On our first visit, I was blown away by everything I had, but particularly by the spicy black spaghetti with rock shrimp.
It took us a year to return. And in that time, the restaurant closed, renovated, and re-opened in a much more grand space. We had dinner there a few weeks ago with our new friends Bob and Norma. Norma is my gym buddy who, like me, divides her time between eating out and then working it off at the gym. Bob, the wine guy, earned a special place in my heart when he came over to our house for dinner one night and brought a vintage bottle of Billicarte-Salmon Rose Reserve!
Back to our fabulous dinner, we ate proscuitto with a pineapple coulis; burrata - a soft mozzarella in olive oil and sea salt. We shared an arugula and pistachio salad. For my entree, I could not resist getting the black spaghetti once more. Both Bob & Norma had the pappadelle and L had the buccatini amatriciana. It was all house made pasta and each bite was a savory explosion. Although three of us made our pastas our entrees, L, the bottomless pit, also ordered the waygu skirt steak. (Actually, I told him to he had to order this so I could have a bite!) It was literally like butter. I know you hear that expression alot, but this actually was. It was like eating butter; soft, velvety deliciousness.
We ate too much food (including dessert) and drank too much wine, but really good wine (Thanks to Bob) and argued about politics (alas, Bob leans to the right!) What a great night we had.
