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Tenor of the Times
Alto Basso a Wooster Street starlet for contemporary Italian
Alto Basso, 232 Wooster Street, New Haven (203-865-1109). Open (lunch) 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Tues-Fri; (dinner) 5:30-9:30 p.m. Tues-Thurs, to 10:30 p.m. Fri-Sat, 4-9 p.m. Sun.
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Business New Haven
1/25/1999
By:
Angelina Anderman
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Lunch on Wooster Street always makes us tingle with anticipation. We visited on a recent snowy day, heading for the newest guys on the block, Alto Basso, housed in the building that was once home to the DelMonaco empire.
Culinary Institute of America graduates and partners Christopher Gentile (he's the basso, or shorter one) and Alfonso D'Onofrio (the alto, or taller one) took over the space after stints at New Haven's Scoozzi and Fairfield's Spazzi - great training grounds for contemporary Italian cuisine.
The pair have really invigorated the joint. Once staid and rather formal, the restaurant has been spiffed up with bright white walls, dark blue linen and a lighthearted air. The previous ponderous waiters have been replaced with youthful staffers.
The really important upgrade is not the physical plant; it is the delicious food. The lunch menu, printed on one large, easy-to-read page, is full of dishes that beg to be chosen. Not too many: just seven appetizers, eight pastas and seven entrées all priced around $8.95 average.
We three agreed to start with an order of “crackling” calamari fritti to share among us. “Crackling” aptly described the calamari which were crisp and light, drizzled with a lovely, tart lemon and garlic aioli sauce and a large bowl of fresh tomato salsa for dipping.
The large platter was about half-full as our waitress explained that this was only part of the order: To keep the little darlings hot and crackling, the rest were still in the pan. We set to with alacrity and before we were half-finished, another full platter arrived. We could have made the calamari our entire lunch.
It was an auspicious start, so we ordered a glass of wine each. Alto and Basso have made the sensible choice of serving good wines at affordable prices. Large glasses start at $4.50 for a Montepulciano, with bottles from $15.
By this time we were getting a bit full, and we hadn't got to the meat of the matter. We decided to skip the salad, but our attentive waitress talked us out of this folly. “You will really like this salad,” she insisted. “Plus, I have already made it specially.” How could we refuse?
She was right, and we did like it. At room temperature, the baby greens were exotic and interesting, with a tasty vinaigrette.
As all dishes are made to order, we had a respite before the main course arrived. So we ordered another glass of wine and tasted the warm bread which had been replenished. By this time we had all decided that dinner that night would be out of the question and we hadn't even seen the size of our entrées yet.
Once they arrived we were convinced this lunch would feed an army. Ciambotta is a combination of grilled chicken breast and sautéed spicy Italian sausage with multi-colored bell peppers and served over “frizzled” potatoes - crisp little sticks - laced with a thick veal glaze. It tasted even better than its artistic presentation, a great marriage of flavor and texture.
Our next choice was veal scaloppine sautéed with Portobello mushrooms, asparagus and oven-dried tomatoes over linguine. It was another winner with tender pieces of meat melting in the mouth contrasting with the slightly crunchy vegetables and the al dente pasta.
The third dish was orecchiette, which translates as “little ears”-shaped pasta. Its sauce was delicious - a blend of assorted wild mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes with a Porcini mushroom, marsala cream sauce and, surprisingly, “in-house”-made Mozzarella cheese. Perhaps Alto and Basso have their own buffalo tethered outside? By the time we left it was snowing too hard to check.
No, we did not have room for dessert, but they are made on the premises and sounded yummy. No perfect Italian lunch would be complete without an espresso ($2.50); cappuccino is $3.95. These young partners have a strong command of contemporary Italian cooking and a real flair for presentation. We certainly wish them well in bringing new trends to that old favorite venue, Wooster Street.
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