The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Crostini with Garlic Goat’s milk Butter
Pasta e Fagioli – Native Seed Search Beans, House Made Orchiette
Cheese Plate with candied nuts, fig orange marmalade, Pear– Red Barn Cheddar, Gorgonzola, ‘Goat’ Cheese
Roasted Beets with Wild Greens, Warm Goat Cheese, Champagne Vinaigrette, Pistachio
House Bread with Pac Sun Olive Oil
AZ Sonoran White Wheat Crespelle with Escarole, Homemade Ricotta, Tomato Sauce
Faella Spaghetti with Bianco Dinapoli Tomato, Basil
Crispy Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter, Sage, Parmesean Reggiano
Apple Crostata with Crema
Rice Pudding with Orange Fig Marmalade
Having since rebranded the restaurant to Trattoria Bianco after installing a stone oven to make his legendary pies the first meal I enjoyed with my family after driving back from Las Vegas was at Italian Restaurant. Having already visited the Pizzeria, Pane, and Italian Restaurant for lunch myself this was my first dinner at a Bianco restaurant and arriving to find the space bustling we opted to sit outdoors in order to avoid the noise; a big mistake that instead led to both captain and a server named Adam largely ignoring us throughout the evening as water went unfilled, dishes were dropped off without description, ingredient questions required further investigation with the kitchen, and epic delays occurred between each course, plate pickup, and particularly drop-off and collection of desserts along with the check.
Moving past service issues, the food was every bit as good as the first visit, the housemade pastas and bread clearly a strong point while fresh local produce shined in a salad with bright, bold vinaigrette and beets sweeter than almost any I’d previously encountered. Unfortunately replacing my all-time favorite corn and pancetta gnocchi with a slightly more seasonal version featuring brown butter and sage the dumplings themselves once again melted in the mouth while the crespelle, a crepe stuffed to bursting with creamy cheese and bitter escarole, topped with Bianco’s signature sauce was rustic, simple, and perfect – just the way Italian food should be and just the way Chris and his team make it at each of their restaurants.