Pane e Vino is a new jewel on Federal Hill LIVE,

The Providence Journal, November 14, 2002

By Michael Janusonis Journal Arts Writer The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam promises that happiness can be yours with "A Jug of , a Loaf of and Thou." Pane e Vino, the dazzling new jewel in the Federal Hill restaurant scene, translates from the Italian as "bread and wine,” but it has a lot more going for it than simply that. I was so excited about the Neapolitan-influenced here after my first visit late last summer, just weeks after Pane e Vino opened for business in a place that for 80 years was a hardware store, I was pushing for it to be reviewed in LIVE. After my second visit I was convinced there was something special going on here. And so finally the editor said, “Go ahead, review it yourself.” I’ld fallen so much in love with the entree I’d ordered on that visit - a braised veal with shiitake mushrooms tossed with ribbon-like spinach pappardelle (spezzatino alla campagnolo” - $17.95) that I longed to try it again. The little shredded pieces of veal - cooked, executive Kevin DiLibero told me later for 21/2 to 3 hours - made for the ultimate , a gravy so hearty and filling that I’d vowed that I would soon return just to order it as a takeout. But then I recalled that on my second visit I had been also tempted to order just exactly what I’d had on my first visit - veal scallopine, served with tangy prosciutto, buffalo smothered in a feisty tomato and a homemade parmigiano cake (“ alla Sorrentina” - $19.95). Two visits. Two veal dishes. But each superb. So on my third - and review visit - I felt I should once again press on and try a different dish… even a different appetizer. On my first visit, I’d been so enthralled with the native littleneck in a garlicky tomato broth with cannellini (“vongole alla Napoletana” $8.95) that I’d ordered it again on my second visit. The clams were plump and luscious, just as expected. But the beans added a new taste sensation to the kind of appetizer I’ve often eaten in other restaurants, where it was always served with broths that were either “red or white.” This cannellini- dish demanded an order of extra bread to sop up every last lip-smacking morsel of its brother, even though the dish already comes with a pair of long bread slices cleverly placed on the plate to look like a pair of wings ready to fly off with it. Pretty to look at, even more satisfying to the palate. Full bodied Italian bread The bread, by the way, is crusty, full-bodied Italian that comes from Olga’s Cup and Saucer. You can have it with or oil, to which your server will offer the addition of snips of fresh oregano or red or black pepper. Because the Pane in his restaurant’s name means “bread,” owner Joe DeQuattro had hoped to offer an array of authentic Italian made in- house. That would have completed the homey feeling of the place, which has been transformed into a trattoria that would fit right into southern Italy: polished wood floors, and rich wood wainscoting, big windows that open into Atwells Avenue in siena,” which gives the place a rustic, warm feeling. What DiLibero and sous chef Erin Armour do make is carta di musica, a crunchy unleavened Italian flat bread that’s delicious, though not very amenable to being dipped into the on a plate. However, it proved to be a wonderful scooper later on, when it came time to plunge into the last dregs of the truffle cream sauce that smothered my friend’s half- moon filled with portobello mushroom and truffle oil (“agnolotti al ” - $17.95). This dish truly was a slice of heaven: three large, fat, half-moon-shaped raviolis stuffed to bursting with minced portobello. But it was the sauce, a woodsy and pungent, that practically had us licking the dish so as not to miss a delectable drop. Boy, if DiLibero could bottle that stuff, he’d make a fortune. As our knowledgeable and extremely helpful waitress said, “You can’t go wrong with truffle oil.” Certainly not! in a brown sauce The dish was such a success that it made my friend almost forget how much he’d love the gnocchi on the first two visits. The first time, it was the house dish of small potato dumplings baked with fresh mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes (gnocchi alla sorrentina” - $14.95) that had won his heart, the puffy dumplings surprisingly light though very filling. On his second visit, it was that night’s special - gnocchi in a brown sauce with wild boar - $17.95. It was more like a stew than the kind of dish I was expecting, with a deep, rich - though not gamey - flavor. DiLibero explains that the boar is braised in port wine and “finished with a bit of ganache, and seasoned with paprika and salt.” The dish, he said, was created by request to accompany the restaurant’s first wine dinner, and was so successful that it still occasionally turns up as a special. We began our third visit not with the littlenecks and cannellini, though we heard them calling, but with “calamari fritti” - $8.95. Yes, that translates as fried , but I’d failed to read the small print on the menu. Rather than coming from the Fryolater hidden under , as fried calamari do just about everywhere else, these are sauteed in the pan. Consequently, the calamari don’t have as much batter clinging to them and are tender, with a more defined sense of the squid itself. They were served with and what the menu describes as hot cherry peppers, though they seemed less hot than most other places I’ve had the dish. We also tried the nightly special appetizer - green-lipped in a fragrant broth that was also worthy of extra bread for dipping - $8.95. Our waitress said this dish also turns up occasionally on the menu. It should. Desserts were superb The appetizers were on the table and we still hadn’t ordered the entrees. I toyed with the catch of the day, a sort of poached sole with a side of fusilli pasta, but finally decided on the “ puttanesca” - olives, and in a San Marzano plum tomato sauce tossed with pasta (linguine in this case) - $13.95. Shortly afterward, I almost reconsidered when I saw the grilled veal chop with a mushroom demi-glace and baked sweet potato (“costoletta di vitello al funghi” - $29.95) land on a nearby table. But puttanesca it was. For one thing, you don’t often find this rustic Neapolitan dish on menus. Plus, because I often make it at home myself, I wanted to see how DiLibero fixed it. It was very good, although a mite saltier than I’d expected, especially considering there were far fewer anchovies than I use. But there were many more capers, as well as different olives - whole gaeta olives versus my chopped oil-cured black olives. A matter of taste. Deserts were superb. My “tortina di cioccolato” ($6.50) was a warm mound of chocolate cake bursting with a lava-like river of gooey chocolate sitting between two scoops of mixed-fruit that seemed mostly raspberry. It was a happy marriage of flavors. My friend’s maple creme brulee ($5.50) was everything we’d hoped, a creamy confection of sugar, cream and maple syrup with a sugary, slightly crunchy crust created by torching the dish just before serving. On our previous visit, though I was already taking home leftovers of what veal stew, we’d ordered the fresh fruit tart (“ di frutta fresca” - $7.50). That night it had been topped with , sliced with Granny Smith apples in a cinnamon sauce and a dollop of vanilla with a mint sprig stuck in it, making it look like a white apple. It was as delicious as it was a delight to behold. The fruit changes nightly, however. On this visit, the fruit topping was a mix of apples and blueberries that the folks at a neighboring table said was superb. Wine Guidance Yet what about the vino part of the restaurant’s name? DeQuattro, previously a partner in Narragansett’s 1200 Ocean Grille, has an extensive, exclusively list chosen to accompany the Neapolitan . You can order 26 of the by the glass, an extraordinary number for any restaurant. DeQuattro employs a rebottling system that acts a vacuum to extract oxygen and reseal the by-the-glass bottles each time. Red wines are stored in a “cellar” at 61 degrees. If you just want to enjoy the wines, you can sit at the warm-looking bar, which is separated from the rest of the restaurant by a partition topped with glass panels painted charmingly with grapes and vines. I chose the Orvieto Classico ($5.50 in a big glass), which proved light and fruity and perfect for the calamari and mussels. For the puttanesca it was Rosso Sicilia ($6.50), a hearty flavor that was a perfect choice for this hearty dish. If you can’t decide, as my friend couldn’t, our waitress brought us generous samples of both, accompanied by the bartender, Esther, who offered her guidance, too. There was so much in the two samples, in fact, that they almost equaled a complete portion. It was a nice touch in a lovely place that serves wonderful dishes.