[lost meals] Davanti Enoteca [3], Scottsdale AZ

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.

Vasi – Roast eggplant + mozzarella + tomato

Brushette with Goat Cheese, Granny Smith, Arugula, Candied Pancetta

Gnocchi di Ricotta – eggplant + roasted tomatoes + basil + mozzarella

Trippa alla Romana – Honeycomb Tripe + Soffritto + Soft Mascarpone Polenta

Gnocchi Alla Romana – Semolina Gnocchi + Tomato + Pecorino

Fettucini Doppio Burro – Farm Egg Fettuccine Noodles + Italian Butter + Parmesan

Charcuterie Board – Prosciutto, Mortadella with Pistachios, Soppressata, Spicy Coppa, Bresaola, Giardiniera, Sweet Summer Sausage, Bread&Butter Pickles, Smoked salmon, Cured Sardine, Crème Fraiche, Pickled Grapes, Chambord Strawberries and Blueberries, Tart Cherry Mustard, Persimmon Conserva, Quince Paste, Duck Bacon, Ricotta, Italian Kimchee with oregano and Calabrian chilies

Anitra alla Coquinaria – Crispy Half Duck + Butternut Squash + Brussels Sprouts + Honey + Almonds

Mille Foglie – Nutella + Pastry Cream + Strawberry + Chocolate

Chocolate Bread Pudding – Chocolate Bread + Walnut Cream Sauce + Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Peanut Butter Mousse – Chocolate Ganache + Caramel + Whipped Cream

Coffee – Lavazza and Chocolate Biscotti

For the last meal of the best year of my life so far I wanted to go somewhere that was not only good, but someplace that had some meaning to me and although part of a chain of three restaurants bearing identical names Davanti Enoteca fit the bill nicely; great location, great food, a chef I respect, and no limited scope and overpriced special New Year’s Eve menu…and like both of my prior visits to Davanti nearly everything about the night was exemplary (and, alas, still not enough to prevent the restaurant from shuttering a mere five months later.)

Featuring the talents of Chef DeRuvo who, along with his sous chef and a handful of servers, were working for a very small crowd even on one of the biggest nights of the year it would be hard for me to pick one dish that stood out above the rest on the night the calendar flipped to 2013 but with both the crispy tripe over creamy mascarpone and the signature crispy duck impeccable while the Mille Foglie rivaled the best Napoleons or Mille-Feuille of Paris I’d tend towards those dishes as being most memorable with the dense chocolate bread pudding in a cast iron pot not too far behind.

More decisive than myself, my mother and aunt both equally loved the meal at Davanti that evening and as a matter of fact when they returned shortly after the restaurant had (unbeknownst to them) closed each of them were suggesting we dine there for a different reason – my aunt for the impressive charcuterie board gifted to us as “something we’ve been fooling around with” and my mother for the Fettucini Doppio Burro, a dish she claims to this day as the best pasta she has ever had and yet another example of what Chef DeRuvo is capable of – a fact that has many, including myself, hoping his next venture comes soon.