Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Spiga Trattoria Italiana, Needham, MA

Tucked away in what can only be described as an industrial park is an oasis-a small little piece of Italy found in the suburbs of Boston. It's not easy to find, behind a D'Angelo's sandwich shop and other nondescript businesses, but once you enter over the threshold into the patio of Spiga Trattoria Italiana you realize that you are no longer in Needham, but rather, in a wonderful villa in Italy.

We arrived, a party of three, on Friday night around 8 pm. We were resolved to sit at the bar, knowing that it was prime dinner time. However to our surprise, the host was more than willing to accommodate us in the main dining room. After a short wait, we were seated. This type of service continued throughout the rest of meal. Each person who we encountered was warm and friendly, more than willing to help, and solving each task with a smile. Huge kudos to the staff of Spiga.


The food did not disappoint either. We started with an appetizer of white pizza-beautifully cooked crust topped with mozzarella, greens, and Mortadella. I feel that Mortadella is one of the least used Italian meats, at least here in Boston. Perhaps because it is so close to Bologna that people think its a less than quality cold cut, but i have to be honest- it is really quite tasty. Prepared as pork sausage enhanced with hard fat, as well as spices and usually even pistachios, it is an interesting mix of flavors and textures. On top of gooey mozzarella, and crisp greens the mixture was a really fun play in textures. It was a perfect start to the evening.


I chose handmade ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta, topped with a duck ragu for my main course. That was not an easy decision. I had extreme difficulty narrowing the decisions down, though that is a problem that I really do love to have. I definitely made a delicious choice. The raviolis were soft and pillowy-perfect texture, and their filling was wonderfully seasoned. The spinach shown through with that great flavor it has, but was cut so beautifully by the creamy ricotta. The ragu though...now that was beautiful. Dark and rich, perfectly spotted with shredded duck. Wow. Now I realise that too much of that could have been too rich, too heavy, too much without a lot to change it up. But then, as I continued to eat...I detected small amounts of citrus. Though I couldn't see it, I have a hunch that lemon zest had been added to the ragu to lighten it-and that it exactly did. It added another dimension, a slight change that made it all that much better.

Dinner was a success. I loved every bite of my meal, and the piece of Veal Milanese (served thick with the bone still in) was perfect-moist and flavorful. I have not much to complain about. Service was spot on, prices incredibly reasonable, a well done wine list, and incredibly delicious food. I will definitely be back....SOON!

Spiga Ristorante Italiano on Urbanspoon

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