Laura and I visited Lucca last night for the first time. Owned by Steve Logsdon and named after his grandfather Basil Prosperi's birthplace in Tuscany, Lucca is Italian at heart but international in style. Long, narrow & sparsely decorated, with an open air kitchen and bar in the center of the space, the ambiance serves to put focus on food and conversation. An evening of socializing without distraction.
After a long day at work we arrived, hopeful of having a cocktail before our meal. Fortunately the bar was stocked with a favorite aperitif of Laura and I, Campari. Having Campari behind the bar has become kind of a litmus test for us when it comes to the fine dining experience. Nothing is more civil than an aperitif before a meal to stimulate the appetite. Campari and soda in hand, we were now equiped to study the menu. Not that there's much to study. On this evening the menu was composed of two parts. A Primi or appetizer and a Secondi or main. Under Primi there were seven, one word descriptions and no prices. Gnocci, fritatta, risotto, livers & polenta give hints at what's to come. Under Primi we were given two-word hints to peak our interest. Scallops/Vegetables, Braised-Pork/Fresh Pasta, Chicken/Rice were all the clues we were given. Lucca trusts their servers to be well informed and well versed enough in the dishes to communicate to the diner the particulars of what the kitchen is preparing that evening. All pastas are made in house. After our friendly server explained the dishes Laura settled on the gnocci in a butter/chive sauce for her primi and the skirt steak with spinach and Gorgonzola mashed potatoes as her secondi. I decided to try the polenta cakes with baby greens, roast red pepper and provolone for my primi and the braised pork over papardelle for my secondi. The limited but well chosen wine list (2007 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence) included a few features that change often. We settled on a bottle of C.G. D'Arie 2007 Barbera to compliment the meal. Both Laura's gnocci and my polenta were delicate of flavor and comforting. Things a Tuscan nonna(grandma) would make as an every day dish for the family. As for our secondi, we were told the chef recommended the skirt steak to be cooked medium. Laura told the server to have the chef prepare it however he thought best. It arrived at the table seared on the outside and a juicy pink on the inside. Let's call it medium-rare. The potatoes had just a hint of gorgonzola which was nice considering the cheese is very strong and most chefs around town have a bit of a heavy hand with it. My pork was braised to a fork pulling tenderness and was served over the hand made papardelle with carrots, tomatoes and a bit of the braising juices. Wonderful for a winter evening. The 07 barbera, which I have had in previous vintages drank lighter than I had remembered but complimented all the dishes nicely. Not knowing what to expect as far as pricing, we were comfortable with our bill which, including cocktails and the bottle of wine came to just over $100. About $120 with tip. What was kind of suprising was there was no mention nor hint of cheeses anywhere. I remembered hearing that a temperature controlled cheese cave had been put in at one time and I also remember hearing that the cave had been flooded with the high waters Des Moines had last summer. Still, I expected some kind of cheese plate to be offered and mention had been made of it on Lucca's website. Anyone know what's up with that? Regardless, we both enjoyed the evening and the meal and we look forward to visiting Lucca again. Let's make sure with the economy the way it is that we support the independents that make dining an experience and adventure. After all, who wants to eat only at the chains?
Howard Bernstein, Wine and Food Guy
Owner, Casa di Vino, Des Moines Wine and Food Connection
Comments