L'OSTERIA DI MONTEVERDE﻿

L'OSTERIA DI MONTEVERDE

5/13/2015

L'Osteria di Monteverde, Pietro Cartoni 163/165, 00152 Roma, 06 - 53273887

Our big splurge in Monteverde was at the appropriately named L'Osteria di Monteverde. This was a wise choice and you are about to see why. The clear winner for our coveted finest dinner in Rome classification, this unassuming Osteria on a side street in Monteverde offered a nice mix of traditional and contemporary cuisine, a fitting approach in this part of town.

"This establishment serves fresh fava beans." This is not a threat but a promise.

We ate here on May Day, which in Rome means favas, and not just any favas, but raw favas in their little husks. Snacking on these tender, small and flavorful beans alongside salty bites of Pecorino Romano is a nice way to be welcomed.

Has anyone else had the pleasure of cleaning millions of these slippery little guys? What were we thinking! Eat 'em raw (but only when they are perfect!).

The menu here will tempt you in many ways. They have a lovely wine list with fair prices. We went with a half liter of the house white (pecorino) followed by a half liter of house red (nebbiolo). At 6€ each, this was plenty of wine for two lushes.

Tartare di Ombrina alla Mela Verde con Zenzero, Cipollotto, Sedano Croccante & Uova Rosse.

The caption says it all, no? This tartar of fresh Ombrina (or croaker/drum) was immaculately tender and clean tasting. Tiny cubes of green apples studded this mix with a bit of spicy ginger, vibrant green onion and slivers of crunchy celery. The fish was so pristine and seemed to be bound with just a bit of olive oil; we were happy to have little bursts of fishy salt coming from the caviar and that perfect piece of crunchy skin.

Animella glassata e leggermente Tartufata con Zucchina romanesca alla Mentuccia e Crema inglese alla Carbonara.

On the other side of the spectrum was this obscenely rich dish of perfect sweetbreads in a truffled glaze with Roman mint and ribbons of zucchini. As if that weren't decadent enough, this came atop a carbonara style sauce so velvety and smooth it boggled the mind. The exterior of the sweetbreads offered just enough texture before you arrived at the overwhelming creaminess within. This was a larger portion than it appears and I wish the sweetbreads had been cut in smaller pieces to offer a bit more of that contrasting tasty glaze. This had such a wonderfully complex flavor, though, it was hard to stop eating.

In front: Cappellacci al Nero ripieni di Piselli freschi con Seppie di Gaeta tostate e Pomodoro confit. In back: Spaghettone con Cotto&Crudo di Gamberetto Viola di Ponza, Stracciatella di Andria e Nduja Calabrese.

Of course, L'Osteria di Monteverde offers the typical Roman specialties of Amatricana, Carbonara, Gricia et al. I am sure they are great! We were far too interested in the dishes above to even think of going typical here. Although both of these pastas were fantastic, the real standout was the Spaghettone. An ever so slightly thicker spaghetti, this was cooked to a perfect al dente and bathed in a light sauce which tasted of shrimp shells and chili. Once you get into this dish, a new sort of sauce is made with little chunks of raw blue shrimp, creamy strands of stracciatella, sweet and milky, and then contrasted by the sharp 'Nduja from Calabrese, a type of spreadable, spicy pork sausage. Obviously, this is a complex dish! This will not be the last time we have creamy stracciatelli paired with perfectly prepared seafood on this trip. It can be such an amazing combination when done properly. There is a very generous portion of raw blue shrimp here which are immaculately fresh and taste of the sea. The Nduja really put this over the top in the flavor profile department, lending it's fiery tang and meaty richness. It was remarkable and well executed.

Poor little Cappellacci al Nero (black hats), competing with all that greatness! Not to worry, though, as they held their own and then some. This is a squid lovers dream. Perfect squid ink pasta served as the wrapper for these delectable morsels, stuffed with fresh peas and squid from nearby Gaeta. Sweet Spring peas and more tender squid garnished the sauce which was a pretty green emulsion, I assume from more peas. The tomato confit added a nice texture and a bit of needed acidity. Fantastic!

Cosciotto di Abbacchio IGP del Lazio, "Cacio e Ova", Carciofi spadellati, Aglio dolce e Menta.

For our secondi, we shared this amazing leg of young lamb from Lazio, IGP. Prepared with a filling of "Cacio e Ova" (egg and cheese), this was a fun and sophisticated take on a classic Abruzzo Easter dish of eggs, lamb and cheese. The egg and cheese served as a filling which ran through the tender lamb. This was the most flavorful lamb I have ever tasted. Served on a bed of perfectly seasoned and sautéed artichoke slivers and with a bit of sweet garlic aioli that tasted faintly of mint, it looks so simple! It was not.

Onto the Amaro! I love amaro and like to end a large meal like this with one (or two!). This particular amaro was intensely bitter in the very best way. A welcome departure from our rich dinner, this was an excellent digestivo, sharp and spicy, full of herbs and with a bit of honey. I had my fair share of this which they say is cloudy on account of the honey. On the other side of the scale, the delightfully sweet Ratafia Praesidium, made with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and amarene cherries from the same vineyard. The intense dark cherry flavor of this wine is lovely and helps to balance it's sweetness.

This mini tirimisu was the perfect ending to a perfect meal! Creamy mascarpone, espresso laced ladyfingers and a bit of cocoa, I am always a sucker for this dessert. I love that they offer a mini version here. Really, I just wanted one more glass of amaro...

The ladyfingers here were drenched in espresso but still maintained a bit of their crunch.

This photo of the very handsome Fabio was taken through the amaro lens on my camera.

So, come and eat here, OK? I promise you will have an unforgettable meal with service to match. My only real complaint here, though, is these guys are taking themselves WAY too seriously!