PROSECCO OUTSPARKLES NAMESAKE.Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic Guess what? A trattoria-type cafe has opened in Toluca Lake, and there are practically no pastas on the menu. Yet it smells and acts just like all those little Italian eateries we have learned to adore and frequent on a regular basis. Prosecco, as it's called, makes one pasta dish, a chicken lasagna ($9), very herbal, with a full-flavored sweet tomato sauce, a nice stacking of layers of chicken, pasta, ricotta ri·cot·ta n. 1. A soft Italian cheese that resembles cottage cheese. 2. A similar soft cheese made in the United States. and mozzarella cheeses. A charming little eating place, it takes its name from Italy's dry sparkling wines, many made in the champagne method of France. A prosecco is always dry. A spumante Spumante is a kind of Italian sparkling wine. The most famous of the spumantes is Asti Spumante, named for the region of its producion, Asti, Piedmont, Italy. To be defined "spumante" a wine must have at the time of opening the cap an overpressure not lower than 3. , the more familiar name for Italian bubblies, doesn't have to be. Unlike Barsac Brasserie bras·se·rie n. A restaurant serving alcoholic beverages, especially beer, as well as food. [French, from brasser, to malt, brew, from Old French bracier, from Vulgar Latin , the North Hollywood restaurant that actually opened without a Barsac wine in the house (it always has one or more now), Prosecco offers customers a trio of proseccos, all nonvintage. One I tasted called Ruggeri ($4.75 a glass, $19 a bottle) from Venice was lively with a touch of fruitiness, but sharply dry. It actually stood up quite well to a full-flavored portabello mushroom torte ($5.75) stuffed with yellow bell pepper and asparagus and topped with a melted mixture of gorgonzola and mozzarella. And it even tasted better with a bowl of slightly sweet roasted corn chowder ($4.95) boosted with a sprinkling of crispy bits of prosciutto pro·sciut·to n. pl. pro·sciut·ti or pro·sciut·tos An aged, dry-cured, spiced Italian ham that is usually sliced thin and served without cooking. . The tiny kitchen here operated by Trudi Reynolds, who previously worked at Bambu in Malibu with Lisa Stalvey (now at Mustards in Napa) turns out light, casserole-style specialties such as a layered offering of eggplant, mushrooms, spinach, tomato and two cheeses, fontina fon·ti·na n. A ripened cheese of variable texture and flavor, originally produced in Italy. [Italian.] and parmesan called eggplant Prosecco ($8.50). And one utilizing flavored hard polenta po·len·ta n. A thick mush made of cornmeal boiled in water or stock. [Italian, from Latin, crushed grain, barley meal.] Noun 1. on a wilted spinach bed flecked fleck n. 1. A tiny mark or spot: flecks of mica in the rock. 2. A small bit or flake: flecks of foam; a fleck of dandruff. tr.v. with garlic, this surrounded by a well-seasoned tomato and wild mushroom sauce. Reynolds' sole pasta dish, grilled chicken lasagna ($9), is the third of the house specialties, and it's a good one. Her plum tomato sauce is sweet and fresh-tasting, and she spreads ricotta and herbs with the sheets of pliant pasta that she alternates with chicken and tops with mozzarella. Rarely does she use mozzarella alone. On an effective 8-inch pizza, the fresh crust has provolone pro·vo·lo·ne n. A hard, usually smoked Italian cheese. [Italian, augmentative of provola, a kind of cheese.] cheese along with a sun-dried tomato paste, prosciutto and a mixture of mushrooms ($8.50). Besides fontina, gorgonzola, parmesan, provolone and ricotta, goat cheese shows up in a couple of her recipes. Provolone emerges on one of the impressive grilled sandwiches, this with chicken sausage, spinach, kalamata olive spread and Dijon mustard on focaccia ($7). And a single beef appearance, thin rare sirloin, caps one of nine salads, this a savory melange mé·lange also me·lange n. A mixture: "[a] building crowned with a mélange of antennae and satellite dishes" Howard Kaplan. of mixed baby greens under mashed potatoes flavored with herbs and garlic and sparked with red onion and shaved parmesan ($8.75). Prosecco thoughtfully brings forth complimentary bread and olive oil to begin a meal and biscotti Biscotti (plural of Italian biscotto, roughly meaning "twice baked") are crisp Italian cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in two long slabs, cutting these into slices, and reheating them to dry to end it. But Dandy Don's rich vanilla bean gelati with a warm espresso brownie ($4) provides an ultra-superior finish, with or without a glass of spumante or prosecco. THE FACTS The restaurant: Prosecco. Where: 10144 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake. When: Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. daily except Sunday, to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Recommended items: Soups (corn chowder, minestrone), portabella por·ta·bel·la n. Variant of portobello. mushroom torte, prosciutto and mushroom pizza, grilled sandwiches, chicken lasagna, polenta vegetable casserole, eggplant Prosecco, espresso brownie with vanilla bean gelati, dry prosecco sparkling wines. Children's menu: Four items are peanut butter and jam sandwich ($3.50), grilled fontina cheese sandwich ($3.50), grilled chicken strips ($3.50), plain cheese pizza ($6.50). How much: Everything under $10 except whole puff pastry dessert fruit pizza ($12). Beer and wine. AE, MC, V. Wine list: Corkage: $10 per bottle. Reservations: Helpful. Call (818) 505-1895. Our rating: Three Stars for food; Three Stars for service; Three Stars for wine. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Chef Trudi Reynolds, left, and Prosecco owner Amy Fishburn show off some of their creations at the Toluca Lake restaurant. David Sprague/Daily News |
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