| rev:text
| - Several years ago, Chris Bianco opened up a little trattoria in Town and Country known as Italian Restaurant. The concept was made clear, but largely due to his reputation as a renowned pizza chef, it never really found its feet. The eatery eventually morphed into a hybrid Italian Restaurant/Pizzeria Bianco location, until ultimately becoming a second Pizzeria Bianco with an expanded menu.
In many ways, I feel that this is what Italian Restaurant would have been if things had panned out as originally planned. With this in mind, don't go in here expecting to find any pizza on the menu. In fact, the only similarities this place shares with its neighboring restaurant are the bread, drink options, and some familiar faces on staff. Bianco appears to have practically moved the entire Pizzeria crew over here from next door.
Although the restaurant may be described as one that stands on its own, I still find that its vibe is consistent with the other locations. There's a rustic/industrial feel that I've always found is a great contrast to the current obsession of restaurants looking like the owner robbed an IKEA.
If you plan on going here, I suggest making a reservation. Even on the weekdays. My girlfriend and I are so used to just strolling into Pizzeria Bianco and being seated immediately on Thursday nights, that we were surprised to find that they were booked solid during our attempted second visit. We had to plan accordingly for the following week. Another visit required us to book two weeks in advance for a Thursday.
If you've sampled some of the market pastas at the neighboring restaurant, you'll quickly learn that Bianco does far, far more than just bake pizza. The pastas we've tried here, as well as the pork shank were all very good. The only thing that I have an issue with is that the menu is constantly changing and selections are very limited. So, if there's nothing you like from their limited options, you can't revert back to permanent staples aside from a few exceptions. Nothing seems to stay on the menu for very long.
Prices are a little higher than what you might be used to and the serving sizes, at least with the pastas, are much smaller than I would have assumed. A 20-plus dollar pasta here provides roughly half of what you get for a market pasta at the Pizzeria location. The quality is the same and the serving size is far more generous next door. The vibe of Tratto is slightly more upscale, but not to the point where I'd call it a "fancy" restaurant. Servers all seem like they're just phoning it in and running on auto-pilot. No one really inquires about what we think about the food, because they all just kind of assume that everything they serve is perfect. Although it mostly is, which is probably why Tratto has the distinction of being the only restaurant AZ food critic Dominic Armato has given a perfect five-stars to.
After dining here several times, I feel it's more of an occasional visit than a place I'd eat at regularly. Between making reservations so far in advance and not having any idea what will be on the menu makes it somewhat of a gamble. And every time we get the bill, I'm immediately reminded of why I can't bring myself to give them a full five stars. I'm all about upscale dining, but the food here is largely equivalent in quality to what you receive next-door, only it's significantly more expensive. A two-person pasta/pizza dinner with dessert at Bianco can run about 60 dollars, while this can easily exceed 100 without anything leftover. I mean, their desserts are good - but twelve dollars for some dark chocolate chunks and a couple of cookies? This is where the line between being a chef and being a "brand" start blurring.
Nevertheless, the food is great quality and will most likely please those who enjoy a great Italian meal.
Recommended!
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