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| - I had one of the best meals of my life at Davanti Enoteca last night. If I ever become famous enough to be featured on the Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," I would definitely be going on a 20 minute tirade about this meal. I happened to come here by chance because my roommate, who has been to Davanti probably 5 of the 8 days it's been open (due to the amazing focaccia di reccio) was invited there by one of the wait staff (Jim/James) for a large group dinner. We tried a wide range of Davanti's offerings and had an amazing night with great company (albeit a motley crew of strangers) and a great atmosphere. Jimmy James was an amazing culinary guide, describing the dishes so exquisitely that we had no choice but to order everything.
First: the food. Oh my god, the food. Chef Peter DeRuvo really outdid himself. The concept of this restaurant is Italian Tapas, meaning very small portions meant to be tasted by everyone. Everything was fresh, house made, and came out as it was done; nothing waited under a heat lamp. They even refreshed our plates several times throughout the meal, which is a great reset button for your brain to help you stuff your gob with more delicious food. I've never been so happily full in my life.
We started out with drinks at the bar. I had the Davanti Sidecar. The drink had crumbled biscotti inside and was rimmed with sugar and cinnamon. If you've ever wished teddy grahams were liquefied and alcoholic, this is the drink for you. They should probably rename this drink The Adult Teddy Graham.
Focaccia di Reccio - This might be the best thing you will ever put in your mouth. Ligurian style baked focaccia with fresh, soft cow cheese, sprinkled with sea salt, and served with local honeycomb. This dish is warm, flaky, creamy... It literally hugs your mouth like a warm cheese blanket sent from heaven.
The next dish was a crispy pork belly with an over easy quail egg cracked on top with canelli beans, grapes, and herb salad mostarda oil. The pork belly was cooked to perfection. It had an amazing, thick crunch to the outside and was so tender and savory on the inside. The egg yolk running over it made it all the more amazing. I might have to stop writing this yelp review just to go back over there and eat it again. I don't even care that it's 9 am right now.
We had the roasted cauliflower steak with Sicilian olive tapenade and marinated lemon jam. The cauliflower steak actually looked like a steak and was so delicious. It had such a complex set of flavors. Cauliflower never had it so good.
The Chef sent out some items that weren't on the menu, one of them was squid ink pasta with octopus. It was so creamy, just a little tart, and the octopus was rich and flavorful.
We had the truffle egg toast with fontina and asparagus. The bread was crisp on the outside and unbelievably soft on the inside. It had a creamy, complex flavor palette that I just loved.
The clams with house sausage, escarole, and chilies were amazing. The clams were cooked to the perfect consistency and the sauce really brought this dish to the next level. It's not quite spicy, but very flavorful.
For dessert, the chef whipped up some blue raspberry cotton candy for us that was so light and fluffy, even the guys loved it. We had the goat milk cheesecake with slated caramel drizzle. It was a delicious and completely unique take on cheesecake that was so creamy and rich. You'll definitely want to share.
Hang on, because this dessert gets its own paragraph. The Purple Pig Panini. Wow. Nutella, house made marshmallow fluff, and roasted bananas panini. This goes on record as one of the best desserts I've ever had. The bread was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The marshmallow fluff tasted like someone took a cloud from heaven and infused it with marshmallows. I don't care if you're on a diet. I don't even care if you're allergic to marshmallows or banana (but if you are, bring your epi pen) because this is a dessert you can't miss.
Davanti has a rustic, farm design, but with chic, modern elements. Our large, round tables were in the middle of the restaurant. It was a great, family style atmosphere and no one was too far away to hear. The restaurant is filled with heavy woods, exposed brick, and a wall of Italian wine cases. There was an old bicycle and Italian newspapers covering the walls. There were adorable little white ceramic pig menu holders that, if I had less moral scruples, I totally would have stolen for myself. The restaurant has a great vibe and the staff is really friendly, attentive, and accommodating. We felt like they were our friends and never felt rushed to finish our meal. We got to thank the Chef at the end of the meal. He had a great, warm personality and you could tell he is an inspired man in his work. If you eat at Davanti, you should thank the chef. His heart and soul are in his food and it shows in his beautiful plating and mouthwatering dishes.
TL;DR Eat here. It's amazing.
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