date: 1/13/07
location: st. paul
grade: a-

unlike your bucas, olive gardens, or what have you, ristorante luci has real italian food, based in classical italian cookery. (their sister restaurant, ancora is more of a cali approach to cooking in general). not that it makes it by default tastier, but their commitment to fresh, local ingredients, handmade ingredients (including pasta), and lack of corporateness do.

and before you say, hey, won't that cost me an arm and a leg or so? never fear, the cheapass restaurant person is here.... as on tuesdays, two people can do a four course tasting menu for $40. that's $20 per person (math is hard!). that's so worth it.

out of our table of six, four of us did the tasting (it wasn't vegetarian-friendly, so that let one person out). so i'll start with the non-tasting menu entrees: the puttanesca, which was agreeably salty, and a fettuccini in citrus butter with crab, which tasted like summer- light, refreshing, crisp.

the four of us on the tasting menu started out with some lovely mussels in a broth that may be the best tomato-based one i've had... i used the bread (which was above average, and came with hope creamery butter, which was way above average) to get the rest out.

our next course was the soup or salad- everyone had one. the insalata mista (organic baby mixed greens with dried cranberries, gorganzola in a balsamic viniagrette) was hard to eat due to the stringy nature of the salad. i opted to have the insalta cesare, with the anchovies. nice, but it would've been slightly easier to eat if the anchovies had not been in a large, unwieldy pile on top (and not cut up).

unfortunately, i didn't have the most excellent butternut squash soup with truffle oil on top. if they have it on the menu if you go, order it. unless you're allergic (or hate squash), you'll be into the soup. perhaps literally. who knows. lovely stuff.

so third course was pasta, and we had a spaghetti with chili oil, capers, and jalapenos (and some things i can't recall). two surprising things- it wasn't mouth searingly hot, and it wasn't as plain as it sounded in the description. again, i made with the bread to get all the sauce. and i think i'll mention again they make their own pasta. it's worth noting. it's great.

fourth course was a bit of a comedown after all the lovely pasta. it was an interesting combo- rockfish in strawberry puree. since rockfish in mild, and the strawberries weren't the sweet tiny things you think of when you think 'strawberry,' it was an interesting combo that grew on people. can't say i'd order it again, but it was interesting to try.

desserts were a bit of a weak point, comparatively. we were cautioned to maybe get one dessert per two people or more, as they were large. the berries in puff pastry with marscapone whipped cream was large, but maybe above average (or, as someone put it, they wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers). it resembled a berry pot pie, and had a little too much crust versus berry in it. the creme brulee was decent. the flourless chocolate torte in a red wine sauce smelled great, but it was a take-home dessert, so we didn't taste it.

as hinted at, the service was excellent... from the water refills to the wine recommendations to the depth of menu knowledge... all good. and it's more impressive when it happens with my bad restaurant karma. though i do suppose you better be on your game in a tiny place like this- i've been wanting to get here for ages, but i've never been able to get in. any group of more than six people is hard to book for, and with the six we had we didn't have the best table location. it's good for two or four. the decor is understated (as you almost have to do in a tiny space), and the restroom is down a flight of steep stairs, though it's nice for what it is.