Trattoria Di Meo
Trattoria Di Meo specializes in traditional Italian cooking. There are few surprises and fewer letdowns. The contented regulars who crowd in each week can provide details.
This, however, isn't a checkered tablecloth spot. It's very pleasant, handsome and comfortable, skipping most of the cliches.
At table, sample the satisfying fried calamari and fried zucchini, perhaps a bowl of minestrone or one of hearty escarole and beans before moving on to pasta.
Friend of the farinaceous will find company at the trattoria. Among the winners are textbook spaghetti alla carbonara and fettuccine all'Alfredo, snappy linguine alla puttanesca and homey manicotti and ravioli.
Snapper alla Livornese and steak alla pizzaiola show off the kitchen's talents, as do calf's liver alla Veneziana and veal cutlet giardiniera, capped with a tricolor salad.
None of the desserts matters. But, if you must, the spumoni is about right.
Peter M. Gianotti
