Photo Credit: Alisa Malavenda
When seasoned industry veterans like Sarah and Zak Baker combine their experience with exceptional discerning palates for food and wine, which are only eclipsed by their passion for pasta, they are sure to have a hit.
Their new venue in eastern Wauwatosa, Ca’Lucchenzo, is a pasta shop, wine bar and Italian restaurant. The craft cocktails and wine list are thoughtful and handpicked. The fresh, new look is cozy, but the U-shaped “pasta bar” that seats more than a dozen is the real sweet spot for pasta enthusiasts. Seated at the bar with only a glass window between you and the fresh pasta masters, you watch as they roll, cut and fill, making you feel like a part of the experience of the dish from start to finish. It really whets your appetite.
The menu starts with Cicchetti—meaning little snacks or bites—perfect for snacking with your cocktail. An especially good cocktail is the Carlina ($12), Ca’Lucchenzo’s version of a negroni. The homemade focaccia ($5) includes three nicely stacked pieces, perfect for dipping in olive oil. The giant meatball ($11) lives up to its promised scale. It is made with braised veal and pork for a wonderful texture and flavor accompanied by lots of sauce and cheese. The Italian phrase “fare la scarpetta” means “make a little shoe,” and so we did, using the last pieces of our focaccia to mop up every bit of the sauce.
My favorite of the snacks was the goat cheese crostino ($9). The crusty bread held up to the smooth and tangy goat cheese, topped with bitter greens and a drizzle of sweet Calabrian honey with a spicy finish. This is one of those simplistic dishes where you notice every nuance of flavor and texture for perfect balance.
Next on the menu is the antipasti. The garden salad, Insalata di Giardiniera, is studded with salami, provolone, pickled vegetables and beans ($11). The well-thought-out Polpo alla Piastra ($13) is tender octopus, smoky from grilling and served with chickpeas and a ’nduja (spreadable pork) vinaigrette. Also on the antipasti list: fried artichokes, arancino (a risotto fritter on top of a warm spring salad) and sautéed asparagus with wild spring onions and fried egg.
Pasta Fatta in Casa (all homemade pasta) is the star of the menu. The Malloreddus Sardo ($19), Sardinian gnocchi, isn’t made with potato. Its barrel-shaped pasta has ridges to trap and soak in all the flavors of the lamb ragù with bitter greens, anchovy breadcrumbs and a dusting of pecorino (sheep milk cheese that is a little more pungent than parmigiano). The Tagliatelle Verdi al Ragù Bianco ($19), a strand of spinach pasta gently tossed with white veal ragù and parmigiano, is a perfect lighter dish.
Hands down, the Ravioli della Casa ($18) is a favorite. The delicate and perfectly executed ravioli is filled with goat cheese and swiss chard, sitting on top of a walnut pesto with just enough brown butter to make all those flavors mingle beautifully in your mouth.
I look forward to my next visit to try the bowtie pasta in a cream sauce, squid-ink pasta with seafood, beautifully twisted Sicilian pasta with peas, sausage and mint or the rigatoni with tomato and basil ($16-$20).
If pasta isn’t your thing, there are “secondi” entrée choices that touch on all the traditions of Italy. Among them, risotto with peas, creamy polenta with vegetables or, for the carnivore, a red wine-braised wild boar stew over polenta. ($18-$22). I would be remiss not to mention that every dish came out of the kitchen skillfully sauced and piping hot and stayed that way through each delectable bite.
Ca’Lucchenzo’s Dolci and Formaggio has several items, and all done well, including a dark chocolate torte with cherries and olive oil, a silky panna cotta or Frittelle di Semola (a fried Venetian doughnut served with grapefruit marmellata), which are all perfect endings to an incredible experience.
