Pittsfield: Trattoria Rustica

PITTSFIELD -- "Oooh, it's like a grotto," my mother said as we descended into brick-lined half-basement Trattoria (trat-tor-EE-a) Rustica in the Central Block.

We entered on the McKay Street side, near the parking garage, but the restaurant is also accessible downstairs from the Central Block at 75 North St. On that side it faces a large attractive courtyard, where outdoor dining is in store for next summer.

The place is indeed like a grotto with arches, niches and crannies, and lots of candlelight and terra cotta lanterns.

There are two dining areas adjoining a mostly open kitchen with a cavern-ous wood-fired oven that the owner, Davide Manzo, designed and built himself, based on ancient ovens in his native

Pompeii.

The décor is an inviting mix of damask tablecloths, angel drawings and on-loan art prints, with an array of Italian cookbooks, copper pots and wooden spoons near the kitchen lending a more casual, country feel.

Overhead, chunky beams and lots of industrial pipes, painted deep green, remind you that you are tucked away in a cozy cellar.

The music -- dominated by a medley of three-tenorish opera standards -- is a bit too loud, especially when the dining room is full, as it was even at quarter to six on the Saturday that we arrived. It overpowers intimate conversation. On the other hand, it is a bustling hum of nightlife much needed in downtown Pittsfield.

When we were seated and our drinks order taken, two waiters appeared, one with a basket of bread, the other with a plate of shredded basil and an ornate olive oil dispenser from which he poured a generous swirl over the herb.

If we were momentarily disappointed that the bread was not hot, we were quickly appeased by its dense, floury freshness and thick crust, and the pleasure of dipping it, first into the fragrant oil and later into various juices and sauces.

For starters we ordered calamari fritti ($7.50), rucola (arugula) salad ($4.25) and verdura del giorno ($6.50).

The calamari, or squid, were batter-fried, crispy on the outside and characteristically chewy, with quartered lemons and a mild tomato sauce for dipping. The salad was smallish in proportion, but the strongly flavored greens were nicely balanced by an oil and lemon dressing and shaves of good Parmesan.

The vegetables of the day turned out to be thin-thin slices of grilled eggplant brushed with oil and a heady amount of garlic.

For "secondi," literally, second, or main courses, my 14-year old opted for the plainest of the pastas, linguini al pomodorini ($9.95), which was perfectly cooked imported pasta with an uncomplicated tomato sauce.

My mother and I shared the involtino di vitello ($17.95) and the Parmigiana Rustica ($14.95).

The former was veal pounded thin, rolled with homemade mozzarella and prosciutto and sauced in red wine with small tomatoes, leeks and mushrooms. It was hot from the big oven and an appealing balance of tender meat and savory, salty flavors.

The latter was divine eggplant Parmesan, lightly battered and fried with fresh tomato and basil sauce and a goodly amount of cheese. It was well-named "Rus-tica" as it could become a signature dish of the trattoria.

A glass of one of the three house reds, a Montepulciano D'Abbruz-zo ($3) made pleasant sipping along with the meal. It was a simple, hearty wine -- the kind that conjures up ruddy peasants playing concertinas.

In choosing it we probably did not do justice to the fairly extensive selection of bottled wines from all over Italy, including, notably, the Lacryma Bianco del Vesuvio (White Tears of Vesuvius) from Davide's home town and the Greco di Tufo, a Pompeiian white made to replicate wine drunk there 2000 years ago. Ancient vineyards have been rejuvenated with the original types of vines.

Dolci, or sweets, are mostly shipped in from an Italian confectionery, and they are well worth trying. They are served dramatically on large plates garnished with fresh berries (a plus) and rosettes of nondescript pastry cream (a minus).

We partook of a flaky pastry with layers of custard and fresh fruit that included a nice tang of currants and blackberries; a tartufo ($5.25), a large ice-cream "truffle" consisting of coffee gelato with a heart of chocolate goosh and a coating of praline and cocoa; and a sorbetto ($6.25), a tangerine sorbet served in a scooped out fruit.

The pastry was very good, the truffle even better, and the sorbet the best, totally fresh and brilliant There are lemon and peach versions, too.

Tiny cups of espresso ($1.95), though decaf, had plenty of bang even without the buzz, and counterbalanced the sweetness of our dessert indulgence.

This is an eatery to try and to return to. It is authentic Italian food made with care. The service is enthusiastic, and it is engaging to listen to the young wait staff gamely rippling off all those Italian phrases, obviously caught up in the spirit of the place.

If you have already been, as well you might have, for word-of-mouth has already rustled up brisk business, you may find that the menu has been tweaked when you go back. A few prices have changed, a few dishes were re-vamped -- all part of the settling-in process.

Settle in we hope it will. As Davide Manzo says, he feels like a "pioneer" coming into downtown Pittsfield; but he seems to have the energy and vision to make it work.

The only thing that he doesn't have the energy for -- at least for now -- is opening for lunch.

"People ask me," he says, "But I can't even think about it. That's when I'm at the market. That's when I'm baking the bread."

Such hands-on attention he learned from his grandmother Rosina. It is what makes a trattoria, he explains.

The word comes from a root that means to take care of people -- akin to "treat" -- and, clearly, he means to treat them well.

Oct. 31, 2001