Acchiappafantasmi

As the capital of Italy, Rome attracts people from all over the country. Many of those people are hungry for familiar food from home, so small restaurants pop up all over the city, offering food from the different regions of Italy. This place is one such restaurant, specializing in Calabrian classic recipes that usually rank high on anyone's spiciness scale. They are also reviewed favorably for their pizza, but we didn't order any. After seeing so many pass by, I would have to classify Acchiappafantasmi (Ghostbusters) a pizzeria as well as an osteria.

One tipoff to Calabrian food is the use of hot, red peppers; another is 'Nduja, a soft spreadable sausage with a distinctive red chili pepper taste and the heat that goes along with it. The bruschetta pictured above is simply toasted rustic bread with 'Nduja. This sausage is rarely seen in the U.S. So it has become a habit to order it when we are able.

Although caponata is not a Calabrian recipe, it was well executed and the addition of potatoes and fresh basil gave it a unique spin. Serving it hot was also something new to me, but perfectly acceptable. Since it is porcini season, the menu included an appetizer made of porcini and black truffle with more of  that buttery tasting olive oil. It was served over a crust of some sort. It was unidentifiable, but necessary to hold the dish together. It was so good we went back the next evening for more along with another 'Nduja Bruschetta.

 

On our first visit, the house presented us with fried anchovy fillets. We tried ordering more on our second visit, but it was on a Sunday and they had none. That lead me to believe that they only serve it fresh on days when the fish markets are open. On the second visit, our waitress presented us with polpette, oddly unfamiliar, because they were unlike any meatballs we have ever tried before. They were flattened and made with breadcrumbs and perhaps a small amount of 'Nduya, They were little tasty morsels, no matter what ingredients they used; especially while drinking the red beer on tap.

While I failed to write down the name of the pasta, it can easily be described. The menu called it "dark" pasta, but that seems much more ambiguous than whole wheat. It was dressed simply with olive oil, garlic, and very fine breadcrumbs that had been toasted. The olive oil had a very buttery flavor which is not unusual in Southern Italian produced olive oils. Good on its own merit, this dish greatly improved with the grated cheese that was brought to the table. It was not the usual pecorino used throughout Rome, nor was it a Parmigiano as it lacked the nutty flavor. It is also unlikely that it would be Asiago, which is a Northern Italian cheese. The mouth feel was creamier than most hard cheese used for grating over pasta.

For someone who likes 'Nduja, it was easy to order the special that consisted of Strozzapreti dressed in a tomato sauce flavored with this distinctive tasting sausage. It met our expectations and was a good choice.

  

Rarely does one see a large selection of desserts, or at least atypical desserts, on an Italian menu. It took quite awhile to decide, so it seemed a good idea to try the Misti Mega, a tasting of five of  their desserts. The first was a bread pudding bathed in an orange flavored fruit sauce, then came a strudel. Next up was a tiramisu with chocolate dominating the coffee flavor; it may be the best I've tried. A scoop of vanilla gelato sat front and center on the plate, but paled in comparison to my favorite of the five items which was the amaretti mousse. Another simple execution, the mousse seemed to be made entirely of crushed amaretti cookies and whipped cream, however I suspect that it was more complicated than that.

Via dei Cappellari, 66

Rome, Italy 00186

+39 06 687 3462

Ar Galletto

 

Located in Piazza Farnese in Rome's Centro Storico, Ar Galletto is a restaurant with a romantic setting for dinner. When you are dining alfresco, the double fountains of the piazza lull you into a relaxed mood, even with the occasional mini bus passing through the piazza. The menu is filled with traditional as well as contemporary recipes, with a more than adequate variety of fish carpaccio appetizers and pasta dishes.

 

The first thing to hit the table after the menu was a basket of rustic bread, naturally. Making a decision proved to be difficult with such a selection to choose from, but since it was a warm evening, the winter squash and almond soup seemed like a good choice. The cold soup, made with a pumpkin colored squash and cream was thick and less refreshing than it was filling, but tasty. The sliced almond condiment added a textural contrast that was a welcome addition to this dish.

How can you start a meal in Italy without an order of Prosciutto di Parma? I'm not certain because we've never tried that. What really set this order apart was the generous amount of ham on the plate. We made good use of the bread by wrapping the prosciutto around it forming and an inside-out sandwich.

The soufflé of  porcini and Parmigiano cheese was so tempting, we ordered a third antipasti, for the table. It arrived fluffy, though slightly undercooked in the center. Not to be deterred we made do by dipping the rustic bread into it. The fragrance and taste were memorable.

 

Now for the pasta. Even in a good restaurant there are hits and misses and the gnocchi was a clear miss. It was bathed in a zucchini flower and what was described as red shrimp sauce. Full disclosure, but a flavor combination that didn't work well. Admittedly, I'm not one to enjoy crab "tamales" or sucking the heads of shrimp, because I find those flavors unpleasant. As a lifelong member of the clean plate club, it was embarrassing to have to leave half of the gnocchi on the plate, but I did. Even worse, it appears to be one of their specialties. Not to be deterred, I went back another day for lunch and ordered the cuttle fish pasta. It was rich in taste and beyond my expectations in flavor that can only be described as "of the sea". I was also surprised at the thickness of the sauce and admit that it was a bit difficult swallow, since I had no idea what it was made of other than the cuttle fish ink. Perfectly al dente and mixed with small pieces of shrimp which could not be seen through all the sauce, I regained my membership in the clean plate club. Or should I say almost clean? At any rate, all the pasta was gone.

Carbonara was the clear hit. The guanciale was sliced, then chopped into larger pieces than most restaurants serve. It was creamy, rich and passed my resident carbonara expert's litmus test, which means that the sauce was fluid and not over cooked with the texture of scrambled eggs.
As romantic as outdoor dining can be, I prefered the modern, spare interior that I discovered on my second visit to Ar Galletto. It seems we have also found a much better Italian beer than Moretti or Peroni to drink with meals. We'll be looking for Poretti  Originale in the future.
WEBSITE

Piazza Farnese 104

Rome, Italy 00186

+39 06 686 1714

E-mail: argalletto@libero.it

Masala Zone

 

Several trips ago, I spotted Masala Zone in the Earl’s Court area of London. It was a chain of Indian restaurants that had a decidedly contemporary decor that set it apart from so many other Indian restaurants located all over the city. It served Indian Thali dishes presented on stainless steel platters with a variety of curries, small bowls of vegetables, grains, and condiments. The fact that this is the way Indian people usually eat with less meat and more vegetables was intriguing, as I had never seen it offered in a restaurant before. Masala Zone also specialized in street food, regional curries, and grilled meats. That set it apart from the competition as well.

 

Although the Thali and street food were their specialties, the menu crossed the continent with dishes from various areas of India. The menu included what I perceive as standards of Indian cuisine: Chicken Korma, Lamb Vindaloo, Roghan Josh, various Biryani dishes,  and Chicken Tikka Masala. There were samosas and items I have seen less often, for example, Malai and Goan dishes.

Since I generally have few opportunities to eat specialties from Goa, my first selection was the Goan Crispy Prawns. The batter was indeed crispy and they arrived with a very spicy aioli and a cool crisp salad to refresh the palate.

    

Even without a first course, the Thali would have provided more than enough food for lunch. It was a mix and match affair and my selection of sides included potatoes, a winter squash curry, and dal. Papadum, a cilantro based sauce and mango chutney were included with the meal as was pilau rice. Lamb Rogan Josh was my selection for the meat curry with its spicy heat being a perfect choice for a cold, damp afternoon.

Masala Zone Website

147 Earls Court Road W8
London SW5 9RQ
+44 20 7373 0220 U. K.

Betelnut

 

Betel Nut has gained a fine reputation in San Francisco and for good reason. The main theme is Asian Street food served family style, but it is not limited to a particular Asian culture, incorporating both Chinese and Korean preparations with other Southeastern Asian specialties.

  

Entering the restaurant through the bar makes it easy to order a drink, even if you were not inclined to beforehand. Their drink menu is exotic, inventive and proprietary. Since you will not find these drinks elsewhere, you might as well try one while you can. It’s not certain that I ordered the Betel Juice cocktail because I liked the film of the same name, or because the ingredients sounded good. It was thoroughly enjoyable, although, after rereading the drink menu, it might have been a better idea to try something very different like the Firecracker Margarita with the Schezuan peppercorn rim.

        

We started with the Korean BBQ flank steak with Shisito peppers, white onion and mustard sprouts. While I did not notice a distinctive Korean flavor profile, it was delicious and I only regretted one thing, that I had to share the plate. Ziao long bao or Shanghai soup dumplings were next on our list of starters. Although I have eaten many since, this was my first experience with a liquid filled dumpling and it was memorable.

Next was a selection from the “Classic” section of the menu called Cecilia’s minced chicken lettuce cups. The friend who was dining with us insisted that we not miss this dish and his call was spot on. I believe this must be the restaurant’s signature dish. Again, I’ve eaten similar lettuce wrapped chicken dishes, but never with this much depth of flavor. I was mystified by the addition of pine nuts, even though I am aware that many pine nuts imported into this country are from China, but they worked beautifully with the other ingredients.

 

Who can resist another dumpling? The textural contrast of the fried shallot and and minced green onion gave this chicken filled dumpling a wonderful mouth feel as well as the necessary flavor enhancement we expect from condiments.

 

Everything we had tried to this point had been exceptional, but the shrimp fried rice seemed bland and I really missed the addition of soy sauce. Adding some after the fact did not improve the flavor. The large plate of salmon was woefully undercooked and the bean and cabbage accompaniment was not picking up the slack in terms of wow factor. The cooked chioggia beet added an earthiness that, to my taste ,does not Pair well with a fish dish, but worst of all, it’s lovely stripes get muddled and its visual appeal disappears. Still this experience would never keep me away from Betelnut. I do not generally order fish entrees in the first place.

     

The dessert menu was interesting, though limited as most are. The rice pudding seemed like a good choice, the plating was nice, but the azuki beans were an unwelcome surprise, since their texture did not enhance the dish. Peach ice cream, again good but not outstanding. they needed a really outstanding taste of freshness to work for my palate. Ah, there we go, the fried banana and coconut ice cream was a keeper.

Betelnut Website

2030 Union St
San Francisco CA 94123
1 415 929-8855