22 San Diego Uptown News | Feb. 18-Mar. 3, 2011 HOME IMPROVEMENT/DINING FROM PAGE 11
PORCELLINI
among the three porcellini who own the restaurant, is not in the least porcine himself. He has a reasonably long history in the San Diego area, and most recently served as executive chef at Il Fornaio in Del Mar. Like most of the Italians in local kitchens, Gerbino is from Sicily, in his case, Catania. His menu nicely accom- plishes a stated goal of presenting authentic Italian dishes that have not been “Americanized” to suit spaghetti-and-meatballs types (yes, I like them too, but there is a time and place for everything). Gerbino insists upon preparing and cutting all pastas fresh daily, and notes under the list that “We are proudly
serving artisan bronze die-cut pasta.” They’re proud to serve it, and customers must be pleased to eat it.
On the other hand, Gerbino’s “house specialty” pasta dish will not attract the squeamish, since it stars tagliolini neri, or thin-cut rib- bons of egg pasta dyed black with squid ink. The flavor is familiar, but the color may be off-putting to locals unaccustomed to ebony- tinted food. It’s a dish with a nice punch, though, derived from the fine flavors of cherry tomatoes and a hearty seafood ragu. The Norma fresca is an excellent presentation of a familiar favorite, in which fu- silli is jumbled with fresh tomatoes, fried eggplant (the crisp texture is very attractive) and creamy ricotta. Fusilli is put to even better use in a dish titled pesto al pistachio; lightly
smoked ham delicately underpins the attractive, novel flavors of an almond-pistachio pesto. Gerbino presents his take on Rome’s clas- sic, creamy-textured pasta alla carbonara, by dressing large tubes with the traditional egg-cheese sauce and guanciale, a type of bacon that isn’t well-known here but is generally used in Italy. Perhaps the most interesting option is the ravioli con l‘osso, a plate of ravioli filled with braised veal osso buco, tossed with a red wine-mushroom sauce and gar- nished with a marrow bone that, of course, adds not just a distinctive look but a few bites of tasty mar- row. It’s one to go for if you like meaty dishes; otherwise, there’s a classic combo of sauce Bolognese and tagliatelle. Risotto, a fabu- lous dish when made properly (it takes a lot of stirring and a lot of patience) enjoys a rather fabulous presentation at Tre Porcellini, and consists of short-grained Carn- aroli rice (you can buy it on India Street) with strawberries, shrimp, Champagne and Parmesan. This sounds like a wildly impromptu combo, but it is actually sophisti- cated and quite irresistible. The menu is more than suf- ficiently large and varied. Starters include a nicely done frittura mista (“mixed fry”) of calamari, shrimp and artichokes, served with a spicy aioli: a hefty plate of polenta topped with wild boar ragu, wild mush- rooms and Parmesan shavings, and a generous “tagliere misto”
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Trio Porcellini combines three variet- ies of pork sprinkled with arugula and ripe cherry tomatoes. (Michael Pawlenty/SDUN)
of assorted cheeses and cold cuts, all Italian, of course. There doesn’t appear to be a soup (maybe Gerbino couldn’t devise one to complement the décor), but there are several salads, including one of grilled pears with caramelized walnuts, wild arugula, Gorgonzola and lemon vinaigrette, and a tasty cous cous salad whose seasonings include raisins, bell peppers and mint.
“Proudly serving
San Diego & surrounding counties since 1986”
If you’re not having pasta, fol- low one of the above with a very meat entree, such as the agnello alla Palermitano, which marries breaded lamb chops to the sweet- tart Sicilian eggplant salad called called caponata, and adds a mint- flavored salmoriglio (lemon-olive) sauce for good measure. Besides a steak of the day, there also are major plates of breaded chicken breast presented Milanese-style, large shrimp in a brandy-caper cream sauce, and the “Tre Porcel- lini” combo of slowly roasted pork shoulder, pork chop alla Milanese and glazed pork belly. You may indeed huff and puff a bit after eat- ing all this, so don’t think too long about dessert – simply order the salame di cioccolato, a flourless, almond-based chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and Gerbino’s own luscious chocolate sauce. Otherwise, the traditional Sicilian cannoli hit the spot just right, and if you limit yourself to one, you won’t feel as if you’ve pigged out.u
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