In conversations with chefs and restaurateurs,
I’ve heard these words repeated like a mantra, "We want
our cafe/bistro/restaurant to be the kind of place where people
drop in, chat, drink wine, become family."
I never doubt their sincerity. Chefs and their partners are a
warmhearted lot who share a fantasy – a bustling restaurant packed
with diners who, visit after visit, become friends.
Albano Ballerini shares that dream. A former photographer of
"small, sparkly things," Ballerini resembles the late
Dean Martin (if Martin wore hipster glasses and a beaded fez).
He endured two years of construction horrors to transform a space
on Vanderbilt Avenue into Aliseo Osteria del Borgo (named for
the trade wind that blew Columbus into America), a cafe reminiscent
of the one owned by his family in Marche, Italy.
The saga of his renovation – rife with daily firings and rehirings
– has the comic and tragic makings of a great screenplay.
Ballerini’s labor of love opened on Valentine’s Day. The quirky
space – one small room with vintage rose-strewn wallpaper, brick
walls and a huge front window, which Ballerini referred to as
"sort of shabby chic" – serves as the perfect stage
set for Ballerini, a charming and attentive master of the house
who is adept at sensing an opening for conversation and knows
when to step back and let a diner eat in peace.
Dishes are invented "at the whim of the chef" and change
each evening. "It’s a very Italian way," Ballerini
said. A dinner at Aliseo is eaten as they are throughout Italy
– leisurely, in several small courses, accompanied by a glass
or bottle of wine (30 of the reds and 10 of the whites are from
Marche; all the wine is well-priced).
The meal gets off to a promising start with a dish of supernal,
spicy, black olives and a basket of warm, Sullivan Street Bakery
bread. Two chewy, salty, slightly oily slices of the pizza bianco
(Italian for white), grilled on a panini press, weren’t enough.
Ten slices of the irresistible bread wouldn’t have been enough.
Pull a stool up to the "bar" (total seating capacity
of three) and you can watch Ballerini cutting thin pieces of
meat on a deli slicer. One evening’s selection of cured meat
might include imported prosciutto, a smoked mortadella sausage
from Bologna, and hard sausages or salami for "something
a little spicy and sweet."
Cheese is the meat plate’s natural partner, and Ballerini takes
his cheese selection seriously. More than 20 varieties, categorized
by their producer – cow, goat and sheep – are imported from Italy
and served three ways: regular, artisanal and "stinky."
(He’s not kidding about the "stinky.")
Not every dish that emerges from Ballerini’s tiny kitchen works,
yet all are inventive and most are worth a try. Topping the list
are firm, sweet yet salty, white anchovies brined in olive oil
and brightened with lemon and parsley. The tiny, silvery white
fish are delicious eaten right off the plate and even better
when piled on a slice of the pizza bianco.
But I’d take a pass on the pastry puffs filled with salmon mousse
served with a small mound of undressed, chopped endive and sweet
cherry tomatoes. The pastry was delicate and the mousse rich
and well seasoned, but chilling the appetizer resulted in limp
puffs and an overly dense filling. The little bit of salad was
more decorative than edible.
Hearty pastas are listed under "the comfort corner."
There’s a lasagna al pesto "from Anna Grazia Ballerini’s
treasure chest"; meat ravioli served with a tomato-based
meat sauce or "Parmigiano" style; and baked ziti.
A daily offering is the cannelloni. Long pasta tubes are filled
with a combination of ground veal, beef, turkey and pork (or
a variation on the four) blended with ricotta and generously
perfumed with shaved truffles. The dish is adorned with an unctuous
bechamel sauce. More soothing than exciting, the pasta is a delicately
flavored treat.
I doubt there’s a prettier dish than the pork tender loin stuffed
with figs. The pale-pink fig center of the roast with its halo
of white meat looks lovely sliced and fanned across a plate.
Although the meat was a little dry (10 minutes less roasting
time would have helped, so would an extra tablespoon of jus),
the texture of the sweet, chewy fruit combined with the soft
meat made a pleasant dish.
Desserts didn’t wow me. A cherry tart had a nice cake-like crust
with plenty of tart fruit, but the glaze was gummy; a huge "drunken
strawberry" soaking in a glass of rum and Triple Sec-splashed
white Vin santo is too simple to call dessert, but would make
a nice, sweet accompaniment to the cheese plate.
Minor complaints aside, I’d return to Aliseo Osteria del Borgo.
The wine is good; the simple plates are satisfying; and the chef
cares enough to gamble on new dishes each day and try for a grand
performance every evening.
Aliseo Osteria del Borgo (665 Vanderbilt
Avenue at Park Place in Prospect Heights) accepts cash only.
Entrees: $7.50-$14.50. The restaurant serves dinner Tuesday through
Sunday. Brunch is served on Sunday at 11 am. For reservations
(parties of four or more), call (718) 783-3400.
