Dishes sampled during my last meal at this fantastic place included:
Vasi - Roast eggplant + mozzarella + tomato
Brushette with Goat Cheese, Granny Smith, Arugula, Candied Pancetta
Gnocchi di Ricotta - eggplant + roasted tomatoes + basil + mozzarella
Trippa alla Romana - Honeycomb Tripe + Soffritto + Soft Mascarpone Polenta
Gnocchi Alla Romana - Semolina Gnocchi + Tomato + Pecorino
Fettucini Doppio Burro - Farm Egg Fettuccine Noodles + Italian Butter + Parmesan
Charcuterie Board - Prosciutto, Mortadella with Pistachios, Soppressata, Spicy Coppa, Bresaola, Giardiniera, Sweet Summer Sausage, Bread&Butter Pickles, Smoked salmon, Cured Sardine, Crème Fraiche, Pickled Grapes, Chambord Strawberries and Blueberries, Tart Cherry Mustard, Persimmon Conserva, Quince Paste, Duck Bacon, Ricotta, Italian Kimchee with oregano and Calabrian chilies
Anitra alla Coquinaria - Crispy Half Duck + Butternut Squash + Brussels Sprouts + Honey + Almonds
Mille Foglie - Nutella + Pastry Cream + Strawberry + Chocolate
Chocolate Bread Pudding - Chocolate Bread + Walnut Cream Sauce + Mascarpone Whipped Cream
Peanut Butter Mousse - Chocolate Ganache + Caramel + Whipped Cream
Coffee - Lavazza and Chocolate Biscotti
For the last meal of the best year of my life so far I wanted to go somewhere that was not only good, but someplace that had some meaning to me and although part of a chain of three restaurants bearing identical names Davanti Enoteca fit the bill nicely; great location, great food, a chef I respect, and no limited scope and overpriced special New Year's Eve menu...and like both of my prior visits to Davanti nearly everything about the night was exemplary (and, alas, still not enough to prevent the restaurant from shuttering a mere five months later.)
Featuring the talents of Chef DeRuvo who, along with his sous chef and a handful of servers, were working for a very small crowd even on one of the biggest nights of the year it would be hard for me to pick one dish that stood out above the rest on the night the calendar flipped to 2013 but with both the crispy tripe over creamy mascarpone and the signature crispy duck impeccable while the Mille Foglie rivaled the best Napoleons or Mille-Feuille of Paris I'd tend towards those dishes as being most memorable with the dense chocolate bread pudding in a cast iron pot not too far behind.
More decisive than myself, my mother and aunt both equally loved the meal at Davanti that evening and as a matter of fact when they returned shortly after the restaurant had (unbeknownst to them) closed each of them were suggesting we dine there for a different reason - my aunt for the impressive charcuterie board gifted to us as "something we've been fooling around with" and my mother for the Fettucini Doppio Burro, a dish she claims to this day as the best pasta she has ever had and yet another example of what Chef DeRuvo is capable of - a fact that has many, including myself, hoping his next venture comes soon.