Yeah, it is the economy, but we’re not going to add the now-expected "stupid. So what’s an eater to do? One of the smart moves is to do a little judicious shopping for what the Zagat Survey editors call bang for the buck.
More and more restaurants are offering specials on weeknights. Our advice is to take advantage of them, either at places you already know and love or places you’ve always wanted to try. We think that if a kitchen is talented at putting out expensive food, its chefs can do equally well on the other end of the spectrum. Most chefs have enough ego to look on it as a challenge.
Trattoria Marcella offers a $10 menu every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. No, it’s not all pasta, although our respect for local pasta remains one of our guiding principles, it led us down what turned out to be a lovely path indeed. And yes, the regular menu is still available on those nights, too.
Meatballs over polenta brought two baseball-sized orbs, lovely and tender, in a basil-laced brilliant red tomato sauce, all ladled over polenta, something that doesn’t get enough props around here. As creamy as mashed potatoes and full of corn flavor, it was seductive.
Marcella’s potato gnocchi (pronounced n’yokey - that "cchi" is pronounced like the middle of zucchini, with a hard "k.") are perhaps the best in town. Far from the gumminess we’ve come across too often, these are at the sweet spot between too firm and too soft, and a generous portion arrives in a Bolognese sauce, rich with meat (we suspect both beef and pork), topped off with a dollop of fresh ricotta and a little parmigiano cheese. For us, this is the don’t-miss dish.
Farfalle Alessandra combined smoked salmon, asparagus nuggets and black olives in a lemon cream sauce topped with some diced marinated tomato. The sauce was surprisingly light, tasting more of salmon than lemon, the asparagus remained crunchy, and the salmon itself was present in a goodly amount. The single off note was that the sliced black olives appeared to be California-style, small and negligible in flavor compared to their Mediterranean cousins.
Other, untried options were linguini with pancetta, chicken and spinach in a mushroom broth, chicken in a lemon-garlic sauce, and a steak with green peppercorn sauce, the latter two with vegetable sides. Steve and Jamie Komorek say the menu is for a limited time, but want to work some other modestly priced entrees into their regular menu. The problem, they say, is that customers hate seeing their favorites disappear in favor of something new, a constant difficulty for restaurateurs.
Whatever happens to this menu, it’s time to schedule a weeknight visit.
Trattoria Marcella
3600 Watson Rd.
314-352-7706
Dinner Tues.-Sat.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Fair
Smoking: No
Entrees: $10 (see above) - $18
I enjoy your reviews. But I can't find a search function for your blog, and the archives are just a list of months without content. Would love an index of the places you've featured so I can click on them easily when I'm planning where to eat.
Posted by: nosh | April 24, 2009 at 12:06 AM