Exploring the Neighborhood: Trattoria Piatto

Last night, I got to go out to eat at Trattoria Piatto with my LexisNexis boss, Tim, and the other Carlisle representatives, Marisa and Steve.  Tim likes to take us out for dinner whenever someone is leaving - since this is my last semester and Steve will be taking my place in the spring, it was time for a dinner on Lexis!  Usually we go to Cafe Bruges, a Belgian restaurant in town, but Tim wanted to try a new place...  I had heard good things at Piatto and mentioned it, but a small part of me had been looking forward to Bruges...  (Cafe Bruges has a really excellent crab cake sandwich that comes with their homemade tartar sauce; they make all their own condiments so this is homemade tartar sauce made from their homemade mayonaise and its just amazing!  They also have frites which are quite yummy with their homemade ketchup!  Anyway, I digress...)

Well, that small part of me that was hoping for Cafe Bruges was oh so wrong!  My meal at Piatto was the best meal I've had out at a restaurant in a long time... (and I haven't been had bad luck at restaurants lately!) 


Lets start out with the decor...  The restaurant is in an old Victorian townhouse in the historic district of Carlisle.  According to the website, they offer "several intimate dining areas, including fireside dining in the front parlor, an airy conservatory, and an outdoor patio (weather permitting)."  I believe we were in the conservatory area, but it was quite nice inside but slightly intimate.  The lighting was adequate but dim and the tables were small.  It would be a great date spot or special occasion (anniversary, anyone?) table!  However, it wasn't so intimate as to be awkward for our business dinner.  Below are my interior photos...  I used the flash in the left photo which didn't reflect the intimateness of the setting and the right photo shows the intimacy because I left the flash off, but its hard to see much detail...  (Check out the bay windows - I believe that brick wall used to be the exterior wall and the dining area we were in was an addition.)

Moving on to the important stuff... food and drink!  Tim encouraged us to get a drink.  The men got beer and Marisa and I got a rose wine; unfortunately, I have no idea what the exact wine was and I'm no wine expert - I'll just say that I'm not a big wine drinker and I really enjoyed it because it was just sweet enough and mildly fruity. 

Tim also encourages ordering appetizers.  They had a salad on the menu that sounded delicious to me, but Tim usually goes for shareable appetizers...  Even though I didn't order it, I just wanted to mention the salad because I hope to get it next time I go!  The salad was called the Piatto Salad (or, if you'd like to use the long Italian name, it was the Insalata di Pere e Gorgonzola); it consisted of field greens with red wine poached pear, crisp walnuts, and gorgonzola cheese in a pancetta vinaigrette.  The only negative was that it's an appetizer salad and it costs a whopping $9!

On to the appetizers that we actually ordered (my apologies for the lack of pictures here)!  We got two orders if Pane, which is really nothing more than a bread basket ("fresh from the oven"); most places give you the bread for free, but Piatto actually charges you $2 for each basket.  On the bonus, the bread was very good, very fresh, and didn't need butter or olive oil for dipping.  We also got the Sfogliatelle al Parmigiano which were parmesan cheese "crisps" (for $4); these was essentially shredded parmesan that was spread thin and baked into a hard crisp - the rest of the table seemed to enjoy these but I wasn't very impressed and thought it just tasted like almost-burnt cheese.  Finally, we got Frittelle di Granchio which were "crab fritters served with roasted red pepper mayonnaise" (for $9); now these were little bites of heaven!  It was essentially a small crab cake that was battered and fried, sitting on a bed of super-delicious red pepper sauce (it was called a mayonnaise but it was too good to be put in the same category as that jar of stuff you buy from Kraft or Hellman's).  The sauce really made the dish but I could have eaten two plates of these all by myself!

After our appetizers were cleared, we ordered our entrees.  Tim ordered the Fritto Misto ($18) which was a mixed fry of a variety of seafood; he said that it was very good because it was such a light-breading that it didn't take away from the seafood.  Steve ordered the Tagliata di Manzo ($19) which was a grilled sirloin steak, sliced and served with arugula, olive oil, lemona, and parmesan; he seemed to really enjoy it but I didn't get much of a comment from him.  Marisa ordered the Costoletta alla Milanese ($15) which was a turkey cutlet (actually 2 cutlets), breaded with parmesan and bread crumbs and fried; she said that it was really good and very moist.

I ordered the Petto dÁnatra ($21) which was a duck breast, grilled medium rare, served with a mixed berry-balsamic glaze.  All of the dinners were served with polenta and the vegetable of the day; last night the polenta was a grilled parmesan polenta and the vegetable was steamed broccoli.  The duck was perfectly cooked with a nice crispy skin and acidity in the glaze accented it perfectly - best duck I've ever had (my description won't do it justice)!  The polenta was actually quite good as well with a bit of char from the grill adding some flavor and texture.

I cannot rave enough about my dinner!  While $21 for an entree is a little expensive for this area, it was duck which you don't often find around here and it is certainly not something that I could make for myself!  I will just say that I savored every last bite and am still dreaming about that dinner...  Just looking at the picture makes my mouth water all over again!

So after we were filled with delicious food, the waiter asked about dessert and Tim gently insisted (as is his style - we always end up getting dessert).  I was initially intrigued by the Bacio ($8) which was a hazelnut gelato covered with a semi-sweet chocolate glaze...  Then I saw the Tiramisu ($6) and knew that I would have to try that!  (My apologies that the photo didn't turn out better - my flash wasn't working right, so I had to take the photo without the flash and try to brighten it up a bit on the computer.)  Anyway, I made a good choice because the tiramisu was amazing!  The ladyfingers were fully soaked and custardy part (the mascarpone whipped mixture) was light and fluffy and so creamy.  Every tiramisu I've had is always a little different - this time it had a small layer of the ladyfingers with a lot of the whipped mixture and was topped with shaved chocolate.  It was one of the best tiramisus I've ever had!  Tim and Marisa got the bacio and said it was good, but it was a little small for the price...

By the time dinner was over, I was ready to fall into a food coma and I was a happy little camper!  Overall, everything was quite good (except the parmesan crisps, but I wouldn't have ordered them on my own anyway)!  My only complaint would be the cost of the food...  While I wasn't paying anyway, I'm not so sure I'd be willing to pay our bill - it was $166 (before tax) for four people which is a bit pricey to me!  (You could eat cheaper if you skipped drinks, appetizers, or dessert...  Also, there are some smaller plates on the menu as well as $10 pizzas, so it's possible to eat cheaper but the main courses average around $18.)  However, as I said, it'd be great for a special occasion where you're willing to shell out a few extra bucks for a special dinner.  My last note was that our waiter was exceptional - he really knew the menu, described the dishes wonderfully, and sounded like he was well trained (he sounded like a food blogger or chef when he explained the food).  Anyway, I'm certain that I will be back - but only when I'm willing to pay a bit extra for a nice dinner!