Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Restaurants Back for more at La Pietra Cucina
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 10:25 PM
In my ongoing effort to appear at the door of La Pietra Cucina and find it open, I went back for lunch today. Hurrah! They were open.
My server talked me into ordering this dish of pasta all'amatriciana as a starter. The sauce was made with fresh tomatoes, lots of onions and lots of sliced guanciale. That's hog jowls that the chef cures on the premises for a month. I've had the dish before, but usually made with pancetta (although I believe I did encounter guanciale at Ecco.)
I followed this with a fragrant, crispy panino made with heirloom tomatoes, basil and melted mozzarella, served with salad.
Considering the size of the pasta "starter," I was very overfed.
I notice that an Omnivore reader and his spouse also lunched there today and left a complimentary comment here. He did complain about the $14 cost of their dishes. Well, my bill today for two courses and a glass of tonic water was $23, so he got off easy.
Honestly, I don't think, given the quality of the food, that it's overpriced. I would never order two courses for lunch here again. But realize that for now the dinner and lunch menus are the same. Would you complain about $23 for a first-class two-course dinner? In any case, the panini are only $10 -- not bad for a gourmet sandwich with salad.
Comments (2)
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Re: "I don’t think, given the quality of the food, that it’s overpriced" -- that's certainly true. The food we had was excellent and was well worth the price. I wasn't so much complaining about the pricing as I was making a statement that, for a person of modest income (like me), this is kind of a special-occasion lunch destination rather than an everyday one unless you're just ordering one of the panini. Here's looking forward to more special occasions!
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The sandwich sounds great! I had a similar sandwich at Stella Trattoria in Grant Park last week and it was very good. I often find American restaurants have trouble executing Italian sandwiches because they are so simple -- we Americans think we should add something! But Stella seems to have nailed it. I will be sure to stop by La Pietra Cucina as well. Thanks!
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