Food; Home @ 25 Feb 2008 08:42 am by Christina Waters
At Avanti last week, Jack feasted on his beloved meatballs with ribbons of pappardelle (they are killer) , while I roamed the range looking for some new flavor hit. Big fun arrived in the form of a roast half Poulet Rouge, one of those deeply flavored, heirloom French breeds that are wowing foodies all over the Bay Area these days.
Avanti’s kitchen finished the roast poultry with a red wine sauce, and served it with an unctuous parmesan risotto and a watercress salad ($17). Shaved fennel topped the risotto, which made a fine impression on the poulet. It really does taste like a meal in France, only much closer to my house. . . If you’re lovin’ the pork chops at Avanti, then you are familiar with the pasture-raised, organically-fed pigs raised by Jim Dunlop of TLC Ranch. Jim emails to tell me that he’s got even more grass-fed pork available at the farmers markets on weekends. “We have new boneless roasts, succulent ribs, fresh ham, bacon, franks, breakfast patties, and other yummy cuts.”
See for yourself – my freezer is already well-stocked with TLC sausage – at the Westside Santa Cruz market, every Saturday 9am – 1pm. And if you’re fiscally wise, and have a big freezer, you might want to order a half pig ($6/pound) or even a whole one ($5.50/pound) but remember, an entire pig carcass weighs in the neighborhood of 300 pounds. So make sure you’ve got some friends and neighbors around when you take delivery.
Contact TLC Ranch, and make some inquiries.
This was our first experiance at Avanti. Last Monday 5:45pm my husband and I went in and I happened to order the meatballs with pappardelle. I was surprised to see you raving about them here. When our meal came to the table there was a strong smell of sage with a light burned smell. I grabbed a piece of bread to taste the sauce and it was over reduced (too strong, too thick and too rich and served in a cream brulee dish!)and then put under the salamander to lightly burn. I didn’t try the meatballs since the sauce was so bad. I asked the server if I could have another sauce for my pasta. They gave me some sort of boiled beef to put over my pasta.
My husband pork shoulder was so salty he was thirsty all night:-(
We might try Avanti again but never on a Monday.
What other Italian restaurants do you like in town?