I have now eaten at Black Skirt twice in one week (once for dinner and once for lunch) and wish I lived in the area so I could eat there every day.
The first night I went in and had a spaghetti with pistachio sauce, something I had never heard of before, and it was delicious. Sweet and creamy, really lovely. My friend and I also started with mushroom crostini which was superb. As neither of us are drinkers and we were too full for dessert we were pleasantly surprised at how reasonably priced our meal came out to.
The next day I was also in the area so stopped by for lunch. I had seen the rice ball on the antipasta menu but didn't order it the night before as just how much starch can one person handle in one meal but it was still on my mind. I paired it with a simple arugula salad. Delicious. Fresh, crisp arugula with a very light dressing, pine nuts and thin parmigiano cheese slices. The rice ball was ethereal. The outer shell is crisp but not greasy and surrounds a sumptuous rice center mixed with mozzarella, peas and veal. A small bowl of simple homemade tomato sauce accompanies so you can add as much or as little to the rice ball.
When visiting Italy I always enjoy a coffee crema or latte as we call it here. Often I find that in restaurants here the coffee is too bitter for my liking but at Black Skirt, the crema was such perfection I ordered two! And when I asked the owner why it was so delicious she kidded that the beans are from northern Italy (this is a southern Italian restaurant).
The restaurant itself is decorated simply yet everything is curated to make it feel like a warm, family establishment which is exactly what it is. There's a steamer trunk in the front which belonged to one partner's grandfather who brought it with him from Sicily when he emigrated to Canada. Family photos hang throughout the restaurant and all the other art is made by the brother of one of the owners based on family photographs.
Black Skirt pays homage to centuries of southern Italian cooking. If you aren't fortunate enough to have an Italian mother to make dinner (or breakfast or lunch) for you then this is the place to go for wonderful homemade meals.