Good choices: Marinated grilled octopus and calamari; lamb carpaccio; risotto with wild mushrooms; fusilli alla matriciana; lamb shank, fava bean risotto; red snapper baked in salt; grilled chicken with roasted potatoes and artichokes; custard with caramel sauce.
With all the ferment about the Boston restaurant revival, it might seem
that dining out has to involve plunging into the city each time the desire for
cuisine calls. Visions of circling South End blocks for a semi-legal parking
place come to mind with a dizzying shudder.
So it's a pleasant realization that one can eat well in the suburbs. Told
by friends that Ponte Vecchio in Danvers was exceptional, I had tarried in
going there, figuring the talk might be hyperbole. But I was wrong, finding
the seafood especially impressive.
Ponte Vecchio was opened more than 10 years ago by the Cambaniello
brothers, who grew up on the Mediterranean coast near Naples. Previously, they
had worked in Italian restaurants and on cruise ships. The European ambience
is noticeable from the moment one walks in. A sense of purpose hangs in the
air, signifying this restaurant is serious. From the outside, the place in a
little strip mall isn't promising-looking. But inside, black-coated waiters
bustle from table to table, rolling carts with displays of fish and special
dishes. The menu, too, obviously means business; its listings of grilled
octopus, frogs' legs and other delicacies are a far cry from suburban
blandness.
One immediately has visions of the brothers from "Big Night,'' pining away
because customers don't understand the cuisine, but that doesn't seem to be
the case here. As one brother, Luigi Cambaniello, says: "We do things you
don't find other places.''
A review dedicated to one dish would be an oddity, but Ponte Vecchio's
signature, dentice al sale (red snapper baked in rock salt) is worth an ode
all its own. Even though the preparation is becoming more common in the United
States, the first glance at a fish that arrives at the table covered with a
thick layer of salt can be a surprise. And actually, if the chef doesn't know
what he or she is doing or, almost as importantly, if the server is inept in
carving, the diner can wonder why the cooking style migrated from Europe at
all as one deals with a mouthful of bones and salty flesh.
But here, the whole glistening fish was displayed beforehand, then the
finished dish wheeled in on a cart. Luigi Cambaniello was called over by our
waiter. Deftly, he cleared away the salt and carved the fish cleanly, to be
split between two diners at adjoining tables. The result looked simple, but
then we tasted and realized all the advantages of cooking in salt.
Firm but incredibly moist, the fish is touched only with lemon so that the
snapper's true flavor really shines. The lucidity of the taste makes one want
to moan for all the times this delicate fish is used as a backdrop to strong
sauces. Here red snapper's delicacy is allowed to rule.
Ponte Vecchio's chef, Mariano Cambaniello, has a masterful touch with
risotto also. Risotto with wild mushrooms, a mix of black trumpets,
yellowfoots and hedgehogs, slides like silk against the tongue, the muskiness
of the mushrooms cut by Parmesan cheese. I liked dark, dried fava beans, which
tasted almost like chestnuts, in a risotto paired with lamb shank. Risotto
with peas, big chunks of sea bass and portobello mushrooms, from an earlier
menu, had a surprisingly peppery tang.
There were several memorable meat and poultry dishes such as lamb
carpaccio, thin-shaved pink slices gilded with herbed and marinated portobello
mushroom slices and curls of Parmesan. Stingo d'agnello, colorfully named lamb
shank cooked on the bone, was fork-tender and smothered in an intense tomato
sauce. A plump grilled chicken breast was served with wonderfully rustic,
almost-charred roasted potatoes and artichokes.
But seafood stood out, exemplified by Luigi Cambaniello's dissertation
when called for details, about buying fish daily, about what was available,
about growing up buying fish on the dock in his Mediterranean hometown. In
just a few minutes, he's told about the best fish heads to make stock (black
grouper), why seppia (baby cuttlefish) gives risotto more flavor than squid
ink, and how his customers love red mullet from Italy when he can get it. His
passion and his brother's cooking inform the seafood -- the palate can sense
knowledge behind the preparations.
Grilled and marinated octopus and calamari along with soft-shell crab
came in a pungent sauce of green olives and capers. The strong flavors matched
the shellfish beautifully, brightly assertive but still allowing the briny
tastes to come through. Ravioli stuffed one night with crab in a fontina sauce
and another with lobster in a light cream sauce with shiitakes and cherry
tomatoes were appropriately rich.
Only grilled tuna was disappointing, a large cut of fish but overcooked to
be too dry. However, a salmoriglio sauce of lemon, olive oil, oregano and
parsley studded with shrimp was delicious.
Ponte Vecchio's wine list is long and especially strong in Italian
vintages. The wait staff pay attention to diners' needs, and are knowledgeable
about the food. And the surroundings are comfortable, although a few of the
doodads such as vases of mauve and blue fake flowers seem dated.
Some of the desserts also seem to follow an older model, lush and
elaborate, but served too cold and congealed. A hazelnut torte with a cream
filling studded with chocolate chips was soggy and much too cold. Lemon sponge
cake with cream filling was a little soggy and the top was burnt, giving the
whole thing an unpleasant aftertaste. Only a custard with a caramel sauce,
simple and complementing the strong flavors of the preceding meal, was just
right.
Ponte Vecchio, with its lower-priced trattoria next door, evokes Italian
cuisine and service, a welcome surprise in an unlikely spot.
Tips & hits
