Dinner at Spinasse/ by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor
Last night we had dinner with friends at Spinasse, located in the crowded, impossible-to-park, gourmet-ghetto known as Capitol Hill. Spinasse’s dining room is adorably cozy and European in feel with communal tables and a small bar overlooking the kitchen. (I had my eye on that cute table in the lace-curtain draped window, but when the size of our party changed from four to six I had to let it go.) It’s a delightful room, though the noise level can be quite high.
The complimentary taste that our amiable waiter brought to the table was one of the highlights of the meal: crisp little toasts spread thickly with good quality, sweet, creamy butter and topped with a tiny dice of beets and beet greens, well seasoned and lightly dressed. Delicious! What an inspired combo! I paired it with a Campari and soda and my husband, Frank, ordered a Punt e Mes. Neither of us had ever tasted this Italian vermouth before. Beautiful balance of bitter-sweet; this may become my new apertif of choice.
Next we shared a couple of mixed antipasto plates: cold pork with tuna mayonnaise, prosciutto and artichokes (photo top left), chicory salad with rabbit, an excellent beet salad with “crushed egg”, and one of my favorites- a roasted cauliflower flan with deep, smooth flavor (photo top right). I also liked the little cipollini onions stuffed with salt cod.
After the antipasti, a platter of goat cheese gnocchi with trumpet mushrooms (photos middle left and bottom left) arrived at the table. This was truly fabulous: toothsome, perfectly poached small gnocchi with a generous heap of mushrooms.
Still in the mood for pasta, I ordered a 1/2 portion of tajarin al ragu for my entree course (photo middle right). (One of the things I enjoy about Spinasse’s menu is the number of dishes which come in whole and 1/2 portions and allow for greater flexibility in building your meal.) When my plate arrived it was piled with thin, delicate pasta strands with the right amount- not too much- rich, meaty ragu coating the strands.
Pasta at Spinasse is rolled to the absolute thinnest sheet- which is thinner than we make it here at the Tom Douglas Restaurants, and thinner than the fresh pasta I’ve eaten in Italy (though I’ve never been to Piedmonte, the region which inspires the cuisine at Spinasse.) One of our friends ordered ravioli- with a lovely stuffing of winter greens and walnut- but I found the pasta dough a little too thin for my tastes. I would have enjoyed more of a play between the bite of the pasta and the texture of the filling that comes from using a slightly thicker sheet. On the other hand, though my tajarin noodles were also extremely thin– I rather enjoyed the light, almost ethereal quality they brought to what’s usually a hearty dish.
Desserts were nice too, especially, the beautifully textured almond cake with olive oil cream.
I wouldn’t hesitate to come here again; I want that little window table next time.
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