As I’ve said about a million times by now, general politeness sort of dictates it’s weird to review a new restaurant in its initial window. Even in the best of times, restaurants are a tough business—I’m talking kinks and growing pains and, no joke, even curses from time to time. When it comes to new Italian joint Piazza Caffe, however, there are extenuating circumstances.
The space that formerly housed Rustica comes to us from couple/business partners Leonardo Razatos and Giuliano Marcheschi, who own and operate another little eatery about which you might have heard: Plaza Café Southside. Additionally, thanks to the work of The Ranch House owners Josh Baum and Ann Gordon, who formerly ran Rustica, Piazza Caffe has a whole hell of a lot of infrastructure in place. Still, when I crammed my brother into the car one recent afternoon for a late lunch at Piazza (as I shall henceforth sometimes refer to the restaurant), I sincerely had no intentions of jotting down a review. And then we stepped inside.
Truth be told, I always found Rustica’s vibe to feel a little off. I’m a longtime Ranch House proponent, and I think Baum is a talented chef and restaurateur. Even so, Rustica felt strange to me, perhaps due to the not-quite-upscale feel of its marble (or faux marble, I don’t actually know) tiled floors; or maybe because of the time I was served undercooked chicken, then told by a server that high-quality fowl totally stays pink inside after it’s cooked. Under Razatos and Marcheschi, however, Piazza has received a bit of a facelift, and this includes new lighting, updated carpeting and a white tablecloth protocol that belies how you’re not actually in an unaffordable fine dining establishment. Our late afternoon visit also heralded gorgeous lighting conditions, and I wish you could have seen how clean everything was, even in the unforgiving direct sunlight.
We also found excellent service, a number of dishes with prices that almost felt too low and the tallest damn breadsticks of all time. I understand that Piazza Caffé is new and all, and I won’t sit here acting like perfection is an attainable goal, but these folks know what they’re doing, and it shows.
We began with the tagliere starter, a selection of cured Italian meats served with fresh olives ($17). I cannot recommend this app enough, both as a delicious assortment of prosciutto, mortadella and salami, but as a nice way to wake up the taste buds. And though the salami and prosciutto were both tender and delicious, the mortadella was next-level, both in its slightly salty flavor and in its melt-in-your-mouth quality. When eaten in tandem with the crisp breadsticks and firm olives? Forget it. This is the kind of starter about which one dreams.
Then, tragically, Razatos clocked us. We’d already met several times in the past, but the more I ate and realized I was actually going to write a review, the less I wanted to be perceived as a patron with that idea in mind. To his credit, Razatos’ visit was brief and friendly, and he graciously nodded to Baum and Gordon’s hard work with Rustica before heartily recommending we try the carbonara pizza. He was so right.
Alex De Vore
For our mains, we tried Razatos’ rec, a pizza-fied version of the pasta classic cured guanciale, egg yolk and pecorino romano ($14). Local foodies can shout at me all they want about the time they spent in New York eating pizza, but it needs to be said that Piazza’s carbonara pizza is an absolute winner. From the creamy yolk and the salty guanciale to the soft, melty cheese, we found pizza heaven for under $20. But we didn’t stop there. We also sampled the margherita (a must when you’re talkin’ about pizza, $15) and the Milanese sandwich—an utterly gargantuan sandwich with a breaded pork cutlet, greens and a citrus aioli ($18). The margherita covered all the requisite bases quite nicely, though particularly shone in its subtly sweet tomato and basil. The Milanese, however, is now a strong contender for best sandwich I’ve had in recent memory. Served in Piazza’s house made and fresh focaccia, this beast was the definition of value, and not just because the tender pork cutlet found that sublime counterbalance between crisp and chewy. Oof, and that aioli? Bright and subtle, but rich in its own little way. Diners can get sides like peas and pancetta, chips or a salad with their sandwich, and I must heartily recommend the simple salad with leafy greens, butter lettuce and a light vinaigrette dressing.
We had plenty of food left over for lunch the following day, too, which is always exciting when a restaurant can kick out the type of meal you’re fantasizing about before you’ve even finished eating.
We closed the meal with an order of tiramisu ($9), Piazza Caffe’s one non-sorbet dessert for the time being according to our server. The espresso-soaked ladyfingers were certainly right where you need them to be, though if I had to nitpick, I found the coco powder situation to err toward the heavy. Can you picture how it feels when you inadvertently inhale a bit of powder? That happened quite a lot with this particular dessert, though it was ultimately a small price to pay for what was otherwise a not-to-sweet take on the Italian dessert staple. I’d certainly hope Piazza will develop some interesting desserts, particularly since Razatos and Marcheschi’s Plaza Café Southside has some of the most enticing pies in town.
But then, the restaurant will only have been open about three weeks by the time you read this. I can’t promise there won’t be kinks moving forward, and every business has its trials and tribulations. When a restaurant is run by vets who take their place in the community seriously and have proven their knack for food a thousand times over, however, it’s safe to assume great things—and Piazza Caffé is honestly great. You’ll find the salads, soups, pastas and pizzas you want in an Italian place, though of much higher quality than you might expect for the price. Score.
