Trattoria offers welcome atmosphere, traditional savor
By Matthew Gray
Advertiser Restaurant Critic
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| The Trattoria restaurant in Waikiki offers a satisfying — if rather traditional — Italian dining experience in a quietly elegant atmosphere.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Trattoria Edgewater Hotel, 2168 Kalia Road 943-8415 Dinner 5:30-10 p.m. daily
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The atmosphere he has created is welcoming. A smiling hostess greets you, and a particularly interesting fresco is directly behind the hostess' podium. The rest of the place sports colorful frescoes, along with a certain Italian coziness often associated with low light, dark wood and Italian crooners over the sound system.
A bit of formality is found in the dining room, where there is tableside service on many of the menu items. It's not over the top but is more quietly classy. Caesar salad (for two or more, $7.95 per person) always tastes better when someone makes it in front of you. With anchovies, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese, the salad offers just the right sharp puckery flavor, blended with coddled egg yolk and olive oil, and tossed with crisp romaine — this is one of the nicest salads anywhere.
The appetizers were quite enjoyable. One glimpse of calamari posillipo ($9.95) recalled an out-of-body experience.
When I was a child in New York, my folks would drive us into Greenwich Village for a dish called clams posillipo, which had the most delicious and aromatic green sauce in the world — not a pesto but some form of blended herb sauce I've never been able to identify. Anyway, the word posillipo translates as "respite from pain," according to the Greeks, who gave the Naples area this poetic name. Trattoria's calamari posillipo didn't feature that sauce, but it was tender and flavorful in a red sauce.
The gnocchi all Piemontese ($5.75 with marinara or bolognese, $6.75 with pesto or alfredo sauce) were outstanding. These satiny potato dumplings are a comfort-food treat, finished with Trattoria's excellent bolognese sauce (a meat sauce), a generous grinding of fresh cracked pepper and covered in grated Parmesan cheese. These gnocchi are so satisfying, I could return for just them, a simple salad and some Chianti ($5.75 a glass).
The vongole al vapore (steamed clams, $9.25) are steamed in white wine, garlic, shallots and herbs. The clams were soft, but not as plump as they should be.
For years, people have told me that Trattoria has the best cannelloni ($14.95) in town. Three crepes are filled with a combination of chicken, veal and beef, and topped with three sauces, a clean and simple marinara, a light cream sauce and the wonderful bolognese. It's rolled out to you tableside, heated up momentarily, plated and served — a treat not to be missed. Old favorites like eggplant parmigiana ($16.75), lasagna ($13.95), tortellini ($14.95) and ravioli ($13.95) are available, too.
Miss A enjoyed the veal scaloppine marsala ($23.95) with angel-hair pasta and sauteed vegetables on the side. The veal was fork-tender, surrounded by mushrooms, in a too-subtle marsala wine sauce. They use dry marsala in this recipe, but a hint of sweetness would make this better. Several other veal dishes are offered, such as saltimbocca style, ($23.95, layered with rosemary, prosciutto and mozzarella), or piccata style ($23.95, flavored with lemon, butter and capers). They even do a 12-ounce New York steak, crispy on the outside and draped with a garlic butter sauce.
The food is not cutting-edge Italian, but it doesn't have to be. Trattoria is a place to enjoy the Italian dishes most Americans grew up with, and generally to have a very satisfying dinner.
Contact Matthew Gray at mgray@honoluluadvertiser.com with your comments and questions.
