Now for an experiment in full frontal appearances of impropriety. Wait. That sounds a little more exciting than I intended. What I meant to say is, is it possible to deliver an unbiased assessment of the food of a restaurant in which you work? The answer: How about it doesn’t freaking matter because no one’s paying me and it’s just food anyway? No one’s going to lose a limb folks. Unless you backtalk.
Speaking of back, now a little back story: I sought out a job at Enoteca because I’m obsessed with food and this new endeavor by the owners of Vespaio (best Italian food in Austin and insanely successful) seemed like an extremely promising opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a great new restaurant. Was I right? Well, it is still a little early to say definitively, but there are a lot of good signs. Regardless, on to the food.
-Pepper shooters-
Like any good Italian place, Enoteca features a large array of antipasti. My favorites so far are the beet, fennel, and orange salad and the haricots verts salad with asiago pressato and sopressata. The beets are dressed with an awesome red wine and caraway vinaigrette, while the haricots verts (what? There’re French people in Italy) are kicked up with a bright citronette. Both are delicious, but on occasion the verts are less than consistent with the salt level, tending to the bland side.
Next, they have a large assortment of charcuterie. The cured meats are high end and snacktactic and are sourced from some excellent producers. But if you ask me (and technically, you kind of are) the pates and mousses steal the show. They are all made in-house which is unusual.
We have an authentic French farm boy chained to a table, breaking down whole pigs and water fowl and churning out vast quantities of savory terrines. The most impressive is the duck galantine. It’s a whole duck, boned out through a single incision on the back, then stuffed with the force meat of more ducks, some spices and maybe some dried fruits. Then the whole thing is wrapped up tight and poached so that it comes out looking almost like a whole duck, legs and all. It’s pretty cool and certainly scrumptious, but seems like a real pain in the ass to make.
Ok, appetizers. I’ll be brief. Try the suppli. They’re herbed risotto balls stuffed with fontina, deep fried and served with a slightly spicy arrabiata. What’s not to love? To be fair, suppli can go pretty wrong. I’ve had more than a few at various restaurants, that are dense, gummy and more like eating racquetballs than fried deliciousness. Not Enoteca though. These are worked gently and are all light, creamy, cheesy goodness.
“But what about the sandwiches,” you say? That’s easy. All of them are good, but if you must get one (and sweet lord you must) try the prosciutto and truffled egg panini with fontina and arugula. I’d say more, but it’s pretty self explanatory.
It’s kind of the same story with the pizzas. The crusts are really tasty with a nice balance of crisp and chew. They don’t have the same smokiness as Vespaio’s wood fired pizzas, but all of them are well above average. There are several unusual offerings including some more truffled egg, as well as a delicious lardo pizza, made with a delicate, seasoned and preserved pork fat. My personal favorite, however, is the funghi and taleggio. A spinach and mushroom pie, covered in generous amounts of pungent taleggio that fills the whole restaurant when it’s baking. (Astute readers will remember my soft spot for taleggio from this earlier tart.)
Finally, all of the pasta is handmade in the kitchens and is toothsome and satisfying. They do have a tendency to over sauce in that unfortunate American style, but luckily the sauces are great.
I’ve rambled on quite enough. Just go and check it for yourself. If you like Italian food, you’ll have a great time getting your eat on at Enoteca.
Oh, one last shout out. Barry, the pastry chef extraordinaire, kicks ass! Have dessert, eat the breads, try the breakfast pastries. It all seriously rocks.
L. Pants
