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| La Tavola Trattoria by Suzanne Wright It’s not too often in this country that I have a four-hour dinner on a weeknight. I attribute it to two factors: the company and the restaurant. There’s nothing like girl talk over sumptuous Italian food to (happily) make you lose track of time. La Tavola (“the table” in Italian), part of Fifth Group Restaurants, is a beguiling eatery in Virginia-Highlands. Opened in May 1999, it is a timeless, intimate restaurant that reminds me of some Manhattan trattorias, with its exposed brick, dark wood floors, open kitchen and rustic colors. Long a neighborhood favorite, when we dined on a recent Tuesday night, both the bar and the dining room were filled. La Tavola has 60 seats indoors and 45 seats outdoors on a covered patio and serves dinner nightly and brunch on Sunday. Our lingering was lubricated by fine wine. The wine list, which has received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence, features wines (including half bottles) with selections from Italy, California and France. Wine education and enjoyment are of paramount importance at all Fifth Group restaurants. Wine tastings, dinners and educational seminars are held throughout the year at La Tavola. When I grumble about not being able to read the small type on the gold paper, our server Britton gifts me with a penlight. She is incredibly knowledgeable and articulate about vino and we converse for five minutes before planning our attack. We’ll start with a glass of Mionetto Il Prosecco, Italy’s bubbly, and proceed to glasses of La Ragose Valpolicella Ripasso ’99 and Luigi Righetti Amarone della Valpolicella ’98. Britton dubs the Ripasso a “baby” amarone and we agree. We are practically honorary Italians, I figure, having poured so much emotion and attention into our libations. The menu, revamped two months ago, is divided into antipasti, primi (pastas), secondi (entrees) and contorni (sides). While it’s still printed on the vexing gold paper, the print is bigger and bolder—helpful in low lighting after a bit of wine. We opt for the cheese tasting, which includes three small sheep’s and cow’s milk selections, each paired with a fruit spread. My favorite? The gorgonzola with a bing cherry compote. We move on to the pastas, all of which are available in half portions, which I’d recommend if you want to eat as the natives do. Atkins diet be damned! We order baked manicotti, pappardelle with duck ragu and ricotta and sage ravioli. The richest of the three—the housemade ravioli is dubbed by the staff as “pillows of heaven.” After tucking into it, I’d bet even the agnostics and atheists among us would agree. The hearty pulled duck, served with ribbons of flat pasta is tossed with truffle honey and lemon gremolata, is a welcome addition to the menu this season. The manicotti, the most conventionally Italian of the trio, is filled with a rich mixture of ground beef, veal, Pianeta, spinach and mozzarella and topped with a slightly acidic marinara. It’s my gal pal’s favorite. As we move to the “daddy” amarone, we split the kalamata-crusted salmon; we’re women, so naturally we plan to save room for dessert. The perfectly cooked filet is served with a soft polenta (a nice change from griddled versions) and a tasty tomato-onion compote. Good notices are given to the veal osso bucco and seared tuna, says Britton, of the entrees we don’t have room to sample. A hallmark of all Fifth Group servers is great training and impeccable execution; Britton adds a killer sense of pacing and good-humored flair to our dining experience. We are so smitten with our waitress we fill out a comment card and happily sing her praises to the manager. Pastry chef Gary Scarborough has updated the dessert menu. After its absence for nearly a year (much to the dismay of diners) during which time he perfected the recipe, he has reintroduced tiramisu, the quintessential Italian finale made with ladyfingers soaked in amaretto and topped with whipped cream and cocoa. It was worth the wait. Marscapone cheesecake drizzled with lemon curd, has a lovely, light texture. Both desserts are almost architectural in their presentations. Well-sated and still deep in conversation as the only diners in the room, we failed to order sides of sautéed rapini and Brussels sprouts, which we were both ecstatic to see on the menu. Obviously, we’ll have to return—soon. La Tavola is located at 992 Virginia Avenue NE (at North Highland), Atlanta, 404-873- 5430; www.fifthgroup.com. |
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| From top: Cheese course; Salmon; Chef Tim Magee; Chocolate torta. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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