Inspiration: Osteria Piazzetta Dell’Erba

Getting out of Dodge over the weekend was inspiring. It
refreshes me to walk out of the kitchen and do something totally unrelated to
food, things like look at an ironworkers competition or ride a bike.  It also forces us to eat out, something
we don’t get around to doing that much.

After Sunday’s very beautiful and satisfying lunch at
Osteria Piazzetta Dell’Erba in Assisi, I’m thinking about pasta sauces in a
different way. The Osteria is a chic little restaurant, slightly off the main
tourist streets, where they take the classics and put a nice little spin on
them. Situated in a tiny piazzetta, with large sun umbrellas and a view down a quaint and quiet street, its a little gem.

The antipasto was a quartet of intriguing flavors: a
delicious melted tomino cheese, prosciutto served with small, crisp bits of
watermelon, precisely cut rings of mozzarella sandwiched bits of sun dried
tomatoes, and a bresola with a thin yogurt like sauce and peaches. The only off
note was the too firm peaches, but the prosciutto and watermelon worked like a
charm playing the sweet and crunchy fruit off of the soft and salty proscuitto.

Jeff and I made our pasta pact: we share halfway.  The pasta pact rules include: you must
agree to the split prior to it being served to you, no matter what, you split
down the middle and share, no backsies. 
We shared a red, radicchio stuffed ravioli with pancetta and asparagus,
and a tagliarini with a unique pesto sauce. Unique because it was
deconstructed; rather than mush up all the ingredients, it seemed as if only
the basil and oil had been combined, but the nuts, cheese and fresh tomato had
obviously been tossed in at the last moment. It was delicious, with the
different tastes and textures of each ingredient being very distinct. They had
a deconstructed amatriciana (pancetta and tomato based sauce) on the menu, but
I couldn’t talk Pact Man into trying it. Oh well. The idea of tossing fresh
tomatoes and crispy pancetta in with oil softened onions sounds pretty good to
me, so I guess I’ll have to deconstruct on my own. 

The red tinged ravioli, stuffed with radiccio and ricotta was lovely, and I haven't seen or tasted any asparagus in months, so that was a treat, but it was as inspiring as the pesto.

Another intriguing pasta combination was zucchini and summer
truffles; not something I would instinctively put together, but the scent
coming from the table next to us makes me think this is also something to try.

The only disappointment was the wine list, which we both
felt was over-priced, but I suppose that is to be expected in such a tourist
rich town.

Assisi is full of ‘menu touristico’ type restaurants and
trattorias so it was refreshing to find a restaurant that is clearly a cut
above the usuals.

Osteria Piazzetta dell’Erba

Via S. Gabriele dell’Addolorata

06081 Assisi (PG)

Tel: 075/815352