It’s been a while since I updated the Lafayette Restaurant Project Redux, but there are several new places to visit, and I want to keep the blog current! I have a couple of places backlogged, so I figured I’d start with the one I visited most recently.
Bucatino Trattoria Romana recently opened in the former
location of Ting’s Place at 1265 South Public Road. It was fairly busy last
Wednesday night, when I visited with four friends. We happened to arrive during
happy hour, which runs from 3 to 6 p.m. daily and all night on Mondays (except
holidays)! It wasn’t quite warm enough to try the nice patio, but it could be
appealing in nicer weather if the traffic on Public Road is not too heavy.
We sampled a few appetizers, with a couple of people choosing
to have appetizer combinations as their main course. First, we all tried the
arancini (fried breaded arborio rice balls stuffed with four cheeses with
marinara sauce for dipping) and found them crisp, cheesy, and delicious. One
dining companion selected a large bowl of cozze (P.E.I. Mussels with
peperonata, tomato and crushed red pepper) plus a dish of cavolini (Brussels
sprouts in a lemon and olive oil sauce) for her main course, while another also
had the cavolini accompanied by the avocado bruschetta. I didn’t sample all of
these personally, but those who did liked them.
Three of us ordered pasta dishes: bucatini Bolognese (classic
meat sauce topped with Roman pecorino cream), bucatini al limone (jumbo shrimp,
bell peppers, zucchini, peas and carrots, lemon zest, lemon cream sauce, and
shaved Reggiano cheese), and melanzane parmigiana (organic eggplant lightly
fried, baked with mozzarella, tomato basil sauce, and served with penne). The
bucatini dishes are listed as house specials, for obvious reasons, and I thought the
noodles were delicious. They are made in house, as are many of the
other pastas. The eggplant and bucatini al limone also received enthusiastic
responses, and the friend who ordered the eggplant said she had heard good
things about that particular dish from neighbors before we visited.
Of course we had to try some desserts. I always order chocolate
mousse when it appears on a menu. The Bucatino version is a thick, fudgy
mousse, which I like (to be honest, I like chocolate mousse of pretty much any texture). My dining companions tried the gelato, the spumoni, and the nocciola
cioccolato (dark chocolate mousse and hazelnute cake). All good! By the way, I
could not find a dessert menu on the restaurant website, so I include a photo
here for your information.
I’ll be back with G, as he still needs to sample the lasagna,
which is his go-to dish at Italian restaurants. I would be happy to repeat any
of the dishes I tried this time, but I would also like to sample more of the offerings
here (pizza, soup, seafood, etc.).
* LRP Redux: visiting all the new places that have opened since the end of the previous round of the LRP. www.lafayetterestaurantproject.com
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| Appetizers: left, avocado bruschette; top right, cavolini and mussels; bottom right, arancini |
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| Entrees, clockwise from lower left: bucatini bolognese, bucatini al limone, eggplant parmigiana. Lower right: me with my chocolate mousse. |
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| Desserts, clockwise from top left: spumoni, nocciola cioccolato, chocolate mousse, and gelato |
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