The space at STG is beautiful. A mix of bar and table seating with an open kitchen. A wine-filled cave-like entrance as you walk in. A peek into the back room where they fold pasta.
We got a seat at the end of the bar, so we were able to observe the whole restaurant along with the open cooking area and the wood-burning ovens. Joshua Hopkins was there expediting and Bruce Logue came in and out with the pastas and desserts. Definitely a powerhouse in the kitchen.
We chose our courses from the provided menu and took our seats. Our waiter was pretty green, but you could tell he was trying hard, not to mention, I think he was covering the whole place as primary server himself. They were serving one option each for a red and white wine. Our waiter brought me the white and Josh the red. I was a little miffed at the presumption, and I preferred the red.
John Passman is doing the wines for STG and they will also have them for sale. I know it will be good stuff.
To start: bruschettas. Each piece of bread was generously sliced, at least an inch thick, then doused with olive oil and grilled. It was a challenge to slice them in half, but I managed it. The first (on the right) was mushrooms (buttons, maybe?) topped with pickled onions. Tasty and mushroomy, but also a big mess with pieces dropping everywhere. And the second, a caponata, was also very country-style. The eggplant was perfectly soft but it was a little bland. I felt it could use some heat or acid. It also dropped all over the place. Perhaps smaller toppings or smaller bread.
For our first course, we went with the lamb meatballs. In our first serving, Josh's was fine but mine was too rare in the center. They were horrified and replaced it with a new serving, along with these bonus duck sausages. It was all delicious and the touch of mint in the sauce went well.
Bucatini with guanciale. Tasty and delicious. Well made.
But I was 75% through what I served myself and the pizza showed up. Obviously, they were working on timing but hot pizza waits for no one.
The margherita. Of course, we had to get it. Nicely charred, hot, and delicious. This is a pizza to rivals Antico's pizza and closer in distance. The mozzarella chunks were a little big so I felt they didn't melt completely, but a small concession when you have a perfectly cooked pie. I see this pizza often in my future. God, it's so good!
For dessert, panna cotta with strawberry sauce. It was a pretty soft panna cotta by normal standards but it was still good.
We wrote up our notes, took our boxes of leftover pizza and pasta and left happy. We ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. And we look forward to our next trip to STG.
No comments:
Post a Comment