There’s an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven, bar seating where you can watch the chefs at work, a dining room with tables for small or large parties and a patio for dining al fresco. Its wine list is exclusively Italian, while there are both domestic and Italian beers, and there’s a chalkboard on a rear wall that lists the restaurant’s purveyors.
A Lagunitas IPA and a glass of 2009 Argillae Orvieto (Umbria; minerals, grass, crisp) started us off along with some chickpea fries. This might sound like French fries, but they’re entirely different. They’re made with chickpea flour and cut into rectangles, served on a plank and sprinkled with shaved pecorino and basil, with black truffle aioli as a dip. Light and crisp on the exterior with a melt-in-your-mouth interior, we ate them with a fork and found them delicious.
The creamy, buttery flavored fresh burrata round was served with a sweet, house made tomato jam and thin-sliced crostini. The butternut and red kuri squash soup was puréed and drizzled with chestnut honey, served with thin-sliced wild mushrooms, which added some texture and savory flavor.
Our first entrée was wild boar sugo with maltagliati (wide pasta noodles), small bites of butternut squash and fava leaves. The cubed meat was incredibly tender and the sauce savory, rich and comforting. Fresh Parmesan cheese was grated on top at the table.
The braised lamb shank was equally tender (it fell off the bone) and a very large portion, set atop a mound of creamy polenta and olive jus (different types of whole olives). A glass of 2008 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Valpolicella (Veneto; dark and peppery) went great with both items.
For dessert, we had Italian doughnuts, which reminded us of beignets, flavor-wise (but lighter in texture), coated in cinnamon and sugar and served with house made hazelnut chocolate and pear jam. The tiramisu is served in a glass dish so you can see its light, lovely layers underneath a generous layer of cocoa crumbles.
Our server, Ben, helped to make our experience great and did an excellent job of pairing the wines with our chosen dishes. Thanks to the staff at Tavola for a filling and tasty meal.
