Five Bistro chef-owner Anthony Devoti has bid farewell to the (mostly) vegetarian abundance of Root & Vine. Beginning tonight, Aug. 27, he’ll serve up hearty northern Italian fare at Il Poggio, his newest pop-up concept on the bar side of his restaurant at 5100 Daggett Ave., on The Hill.
Il Poggio, which means “the hill” in Italian, is the third of Devoti’s rotating concept restaurants since February. The first, Mon Petit Chou, celebrated French cuisine; Root & Vine focused on the bounty of spring and summer produce, much of it grown in Devoti’s garden at Five Bistro.
At Il Poggio, Devoti showcases house-made salumi, including house-made mortadella studded with crunchy pistachios, and handmade pastas like butternut squash ravioli and gnocchi. The seven-course prix-fixe meal begins with an amuse of house-smoked salmon with a swath of creamy dill sauce, red onion and garden cucumbers. From there, standout dishes include simple, yet intensely flavorful eggplant Parmesan; paper-thin, jewel-like slices of beef carpaccio with pickled vegetables; and a rich, flavorful, pork trotter ragú.
Wine pairings are available for an additional $30 and reflect the many varieties of Northern Italy, from a delightfully tangy, young orange pinot grigio to a robust, Burgundy-like pinot nero.
The Il Poggio menu is available Wednesdays through Saturdays, and reservations are encouraged. Devoti expects Il Poggio to run through October with slight menu changes to accommodate seasonal produce. Here’s a look at what to expect:
This article appears in August 2014.