Third night in a row eating out this week. This time we were revisiting Cotogna which we last visited here back in July. We had such a great meal last time we were very much looking forward to this meal.
Menu had changed a fair amount since July which was nice since we could try different things except for the Raviolo which I was determined to order again. We started off with cocktails since they have such great ones here. All the cocktails were also different this time around. Andrea went with the Oasi (tequila,chili liqueur, amaro, bitters) and I had the Incagliato (run, banana liqueur, lime, bitters) which I was bit skeptical of because I’m not so big on rum and was not sure about banana liqueur, but our waitperson recommended. As it turned out it, was very light and crisp, and refreshing. Andrea’s cocktail had an almost savory taste to and had the heat, but also delicious in a very different way.
For antipasti, we ordered the cherry tomato salad since they’re in season and the blue fin tuna crudo. The cherry tomato salad included some deliciously fresh Italian burrata. We did find the tuna dish to be a bit less successful. It came with some walnuts candied with mosto (grape must) which was an unusual accompaniment to tuna. The walnuts were actually quite delicious and added a nice texture, but the flavors overpowered the tuna which was quite mild flavored.
We also ordered to pastas because, for one, I HAD to get the Raviolo and then since they had fresh Perigord truffles from Australia and featured it in a dish, the Tagliatelle al Tartufo, we had to get that. We also added a truffle supplement to the Raviolo because that’s the way we roll, haha, but you knew that about us already.
The tagliatelle came out first. It’s a simple preparation (egg pasta and butter) intended to let the truffle shine. Someone else shaved the truffle and the truffle shaver was set a bit too thick (thinner releases more of the aromatics), but they did provide a decent amount of truffle which visibly looked quite moist and fresh (unlike so many other places at which we’ve had truffles). The dish was good as would be expected, but it was ultimately held back because this truffle just wasn’t as aromatic and flavorful as Perigord truffles we get from France.
Then came the Raviolo which is stuffed with Ricotta, topped with a nice orange yolk, and drizzled with browned butter and supplemented with the truffle. This was the dish we came back for and it delivered. Even without the truffle, this dish is fantastic, but with the egg and the butter it’s so well suited to truffle and we relished every bite.
For our secondi, we ordered the lamb shank. This was a very nice comforting autumnal dish that rounded out the meal nicely.
We weren’t obscenely full, so we did have dessert (last time we were rushed to get to the show, so we only had gelato). We had to try their cannoli and our waitperson had given such a great description of the fig and chocolate cremoso that we had try that as well. Both desserts were excellent. The shell on the cannoli was crisp, the ricotta filling sweet and creamy, and all covered in pistachio bits. The chocolate cremoso also had figs and cocoa nibs, chocolate sauce and a fig gelato which all made for a great combination of flavors and texture.
It was another enjoyable meal here and it’s nice to know that when we come back again, the menu will have changed and we’ll have another whole set of dishes and cocktails to try!
Leave a Reply