These days it seems that any restaurant Fabio Trabocchi opens is a surefire hit and it's no different with SFOGLINA located in the Van Ness neighborhood up the block from UDC. It's a fine addition to an area that never really had many finer dining options. While I use the term fine dining, I am referring to the food as Sfoglina (http://www.sfoglinadc.com) has the most casual of feels. We were pleasantly seated at the extreme rear in a comfy fabric booth which went from floor to ceiling (quieter as well than the central area open to the bar and kitchen) and the first thing we noticed was the "antique" feel of the plates and silver; one dish arrived at the next table in one of those 1970's Corelle/Corning cornflower saucepans!
The menu is very simple with about 7 starters, 7 pastas, 2 mains and a couple of sides with a special here or there. The best deal is easily the option of three pasta choices for $68 (each is $24, so you save $4.00!).
Will and I ordered a bottle (the wine list is much bigger then the whole menu) of Zenato Ripassa 2013 Valpolicella Ripasso which was a dream (as any Zenato tends to be) and drank well with our very varied choices. Sam and his friend tried the three mocktail options: Eve's Temptation of Cranberry, Sparkling Apple Cider, Lemon & Soda Water; Pompelmo Frizzante of Grapefruit, Agave Syrup, Lime Juice & Soda Water and the one Samuel declared the winner was the Spiced Melograno of Pomegranate, Cinnamon Syrup, Lemon & Club Soda (and I had to agree...the cinnamon was barely noticeable).
While the bread and olive oil were good, we liked it better for mopping up the awesome sauces.
Samuel started with the Arugula & Bibb Lettuce Salad, Ricotta Salata & Autumn Apples which was quite huge indeed. His friend had the Grilled Spicy Calamari which was cooked perfectly and served with a kicky Romesco Sauce for dipping.
Will and I split two starters: Fisherman Style Octopus Bagna Cauda had two large tentacles cooked to perfection and just slightly crunchy on the outside with a super sauce, while the Buffalo Milk Mozzarella came with a Tuscan Tonnato Sauce. Tonnato is almost always served with cold thinly sliced veal and the sauce's tuna taste is often muted by the meat, but here the tuna flavor was evident and the sauce a perfect compliment to the cheese; who knew?
Our server Maurico was a gem and we had others checking on us all the time to insure that everything was going well, and it did indeed. Just as at his other super fine dining establishments, the service here is top notch.
Samuel chose the Marche Bianchetti White Truffle Pappardelle with Parmigiano Reggiano which was quite divine and the rest of us split three pastas, each better than the next:
Basil Infused Tortellini are filled with rich Goat Cheese and served in a tomato based sauce with Brussels Sprouts
Squid Ink & Paprika Cannelloni Curls are more akin to mezzalune (ravioli) and are filled with Baccala (cod) and served with Lobster & Peperoncino in a to-die-for sauce.
Most decadent was the Spaghetti Chitarra served with Pancetta, Escarole and served Carbonara Style with a soft egg on top to break and enhance the rich creamy sauce.
As I said, these sauces needed major wiping up with the bread!
Desserts were a Tiramisu Panna Cotta with Zabaglione and Cocoa Nib Dentelle (a bit too crunchy for me, but novel, and Will loved it, as I prefer my panna cotta smooth) and Apple Hazelnut Coffee Cake with Vanilla Chantilly & Cider Sauce which I declared the winner.
Will's glass of Huckleberry-Cello was cloyingly sweet, but my 2010 Colosi Zibibbo Passito di Pantarella was a wonderful glass of the Sicilian sweet wine that is from the Marsala area.
There were some families, some couples, but in general a lot of small groups of folks just enjoying the good food, wine, service and atmosphere....
