Call them what you will --- small plates, shared plates, tapas or antipasti. But if you’re talking about those trendy nibbles as they are served at Alta Strada in Wellesley, MA, you’ve gotta first call them fabulous.
This suburban outpost of chef Michael Schlow (who won the James Beard award for “Best Chef in the Northeast”), is located in the affluent community of Wellesley. Schlow himself calls it “the ultimate neighborhood restaurant” – “a place that’s a little stripped down, uncluttered, but serves great food in a relaxed, completely easy-going environment.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. So, while we’re letting Schlow talk, let him tell you about the service, too (as he describes it on the Website): “Attentive, intelligent, friendly and unobtrusive...” And, the food: “Delicious, authentic Italian.”
I found it all to be true when I landed at Alta Strada with a friend on a cold, rainy, nasty night last week. I also found the antipasti of my dreams. Brussels sprouts, spiked with julienned jalapeno and toasted walnuts; crostini topped with a puree of white beans, sage, red onion and rosemary; a schmear of creamy homemade ricotta cheese on toasted bread; cauliflower rosettes sauteed with extra virgin olive oil and fresh thyme and tossed with golden raisins and toasted pine nuts -- each plate seemed even yummier than the one before.
Large slabs of crostini, spread with luscious homemade fig jam and served alongside San Daniele prosciutto sliced impossibly thin (pictured here), came from the Primi menu, but we enjoyed it along with with the other antipasti and glasses of Italian white wine and New England beer.
Antipasti pricetags are $6 for one selection, $15 for three, $24 for five. My friend tried to stop me at three, but the line-up was so enticing I ordered two more antipasti after our entrees.
And, oh, those entrees. A glorious fat fillet of local cod, perfectly charred outside, pearly white within, was teamed with a room temperature “salad” of Israeli couscous flecked with bits of fresh mint and jalapeno. And, from the pasta roster, “Mushroom Filled Lune with More Mushrooms, Truffle Oil and Parmigiano” were rich and satisfying.
The triumph of the dessert menu – the cutely named “mascarporeo” -- involved poufy clouds of whipped, sweetened mascarpone cheese and buttery, dark chocolate shortbread cookies. I’ll never be able to eat another ordinary Oreo cookie again.
Alta Strada is an inviting space, large yet warmed by wooden floors, old brick walls and soft lighting. In spite of the wet, windy weather, it was packed on a weeknight with an exuberant crowd that clearly understands how lucky it is to have Alta Strada as its neighborhood eatery.
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