Gastroville

The most expensive meal was reserved for the last night, and, to be honest, I had qualms about Italian cuisine prepared by an Austrian. I feared that we would end up eating good quality international cuisine in a great setting.

It turned out that I was dead wrong about my first assumption, and right about the setting. Indeed the room on the top floor of the Cavalieri Hilton is very elegant, and the view of Roma at night (the restaurant is only open for dinner Tuesdays to Saturdays) is stunning. We first sat in the lounge, sipping champagne and admiring the quality of the carpaccio of raw lamb with reggiano and the green asparagus tempura that they brought to accompany the house champagne. which turned out to be a floral and delicate Veuve Cliquot Cuvee St. Petersburg. The view from the balcony in front of the lounge was magnificent.

The capacity of the dining room is rather limited given well spaced tables which are dotted with remarkably elegant flowers and candle arrangements. It also turned out that the service, led by the dining room manager, Umberto Giraudo, who came from Alain Ducasse in Paris, was outstanding. We found that excellence in service and hospitality are a distinguishing mark of La Pergola, and indeed the four leading members of the team, chef Heinz Beck, manager Umberto Giraudo, maitre d’ Simone Pinoli, and the head sommelier Marco Reitano (who had broken his leg and was absent during our visit) had written a book about service: L’Arte del Servizio.

All of this would not have meant much for me had the cooking not been on par. Fortunately it was. Chef Beck’s cooking shows tremendous respect for raw materials, and his dishes are as elegant and gracious as the ballet that takes place in the dining room under the watchful eyes of Umberto. I know the term “gracious” is unusual to describe a cooking style, but this is the adjective that comes to mind when thinking of the array of dishes which proved that the chef has a delicate touch and prioritizes elegance and intelligent restraint over other qualities. To me, this type of well studied control and respect for seasonal ingredients and the ability to create dishes which seem simple but taste divine are the hallmarks of Italian cuisine at its best. The simplicity here is misleading as, although most of these dishes are composed of three to four ingredients, the conception of these dishes is anything but simple. On the contrary, the conception and flow of the meal has revealed that Beck is a sensitive and intelligent person, while also being quite meticulous and precise (his Germanic roots I guess). At any rate, I always think that this type of refined, subtle cooking always flirts with disaster. That is, sometimes refinement comes at the expense of flavor, and the balance comes at the expense of intensity and depth. This has been my impression in some highly touted starred restaurants in Italy (three star Dal Pescatore, two star Da Caino and Gambero Rosso and Dan Alfonso). At such places, one comes to the conclusion that it would have been better to dine in a fine trattoria for a fraction of the cost. Conversely, when everything comes together, the refinement and subtlety of the best Italian cooking can be such that it is not superior or inferior to the best French or Spanish cooking; it is simply distinct.

We have concocted our own menu degustation from a la carte dishes, to which, Umberto generously added an intelligent touch: i.e. the most memorable intermezzo I recall in recent history. Following a selection of amuses from the chef that were centered on variations on tomato and were appropriately appetizing (the puree with reggiano ice cream was especially noteworthy), we had the following courses:

Tartare di scampi su brunoise di cetriolo e papaya

Tortellini di piselli e calamari con salsa al nero di sepia

Fagotelli “La Pergola”

Intermezzo di asparagi bianchi

Filetto di spigola in pasta di sale

Guanciale di manzo brasato

Gran dessert.

I asked Umberto whether the scampi was as good as Ducasse’s version with caviar. He said it was different and not as rich. It may not have been as rich, but it was brilliant, and the ménage a 3, between ultra fresh juicy and raw carpaccio of scampi, which had not yet developed an iodine flavor, and the diced crunchy/sweet papayas and refreshing baby cucumbers, was divine.

The pasta dishes which followed did not disappoint either. The first pasta was and ethereally light tortellini which made best use of the seasonal baby peas and contrasted the peas in taste and in color with the smallest imaginable baby calamari or squid. The deep frying of squid exhibited remarkable mastery as they had remained juicy and greaseless.

But the second pasta dish was even more memorable. This one, the fagotelli (a version of ravioli), was essentially a take on the traditional carbonara which is a Roman specialty. Each bite was sensational as intense flavors of eggs, pancetta and cream revealed themselves in liquid form and, with each bite, the dish became more satisfactory as it revealed the hidden taste of Sarawak pepper and subtle spicing which did not mask the essential and complementary flavors.

The so called intermezzo of white asparagus was spectacular. I had never tasted white asparagus that good, .i.e. that tender and flavorful with the optimum earthy/bitter aftertaste. They come from Bassano (del Grappa) near Venezia, and the chef prepared them in three ways: wrapped in lardo and gratined, with large prawns (mezzancole) and wild mushrooms (mousserons) in a wild mushroom reduction, and with squab in a sweet (port) and sour (grape must) reduction. The overall crescendo effect which was an overriding theme of the meal also pertained to this course as we progressed along the three dimensions of the dish showing how versatile white asparagus is in terms of its pairing with different flavors.

Normally the main courses are not the strongest part of the meal in Italian restaurants, but not here. Umberto talked us into ordering the wild seabass in salt crust and beef cheeks, and we listened to his advice. It is getting harder and harder to eat good seabass (loup de mer, bar, spigola, and branzino) due to extensive farming, and farmed seabass is usually quite insipid compared to the wild version (although there are better fish farms especially in the Riviera). The problem is that farming also affects the “wild” fish, as the lazy creatures prefer to come close to the farms and consume the leftover food from the fish in the farm. As a consequence, the taste of farmed and non-farmed sea bass is becoming alike, as bad money drives out good money. The true taste of rock sea bass is hard to experience. And when one tastes very fresh rock sea bass, as I did at La Pergola, it is hard not to revel in how flavorful and subtle the flesh is. Chef Beck also brought out the best in it by his precise salt crust cooking and by carefully pairing the spigola with different embodiments of seasonal zucchini flower (pureed, grilled, sautéed and deep fried) and a light red pepper mousse. These simple adornments did not detract from the fish but highlighted its freshness and added an extra dimension. Overall, the dish was fantastic.

Beef cheeks were nearly as good, as the cubed cut was from the best part of the cheek and the flavor was more refined than one typically associates with this rustic dish. The rest of the cheek was ground and served deep fried, wrapped in the crunchy skin. The soft polenta and the carrot puree were faultless.

We did not ask for a cheese course, but Umberto kindly brought us some aged reggiano to show off the quality of the balsamic vinegars that they carry in the restaurant. We tasted from several different bottles ranging from 25 to 100 years old and truly felt in heaven.

Desserts are also very successful. They are well thought out, ranging from refreshing berry granitas to feather light Napolitan cream (Pastiera Napoletana) and to coffee, chocolate, and caramel flavors in various shapes, all invariably non-filling and excellent.

I should also mention that attention to detail and aesthetics is a hallmark of La Pergola. The table arrangements reflect the crescendo and then the winding down of the meal, as they change the table arrangements and they use smaller candles and flowers with dessert and coffee. In the beginning of the meal they offer a mineral water list from all Italy, and they are willing to provide you with details if you feel skeptical. Towards the end and before the dessert, they bring an elegant silver box containing many closed drawers, and as you open the drawers, they reveal beautiful and delicate pastries.

There are also separate tea and coffee menus, and especially the former is incomparably rich, perhaps the best I have seen anywhere. If you order tea or coffee, they serve delicious chocolate truffles, in addition to the jewels gradually disappearing in the silver box.

The wine list is also remarkable and not excessively priced. Following the champagne, we had a bottle of one of my favorite Piemontese whites: Gavi Etichetta Nera 2003—La Scolca. There is good backbone and mineral in this wine, and it is not overly fruity, so it goes well with the delicate seafood dishes. But I was especially impressed by the 1999 Vigna del Nocio from Boscarelli. This is my favorite Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and the ‘99 is almost as good as ‘97. The wine was very elegant and complex, and it revealed griotte, leather and coffee aromas which persisted on the palate. Harmonious and silky with soft tannis, a long finish and good structure, I rated the wine quite high and found it compatible with the cooking style.

It is not an easy task to rate a chef after one meal only. Previously I had called Le Calandre and Da Vittorio the two best in Italy that I had tried and had given the score of 18/20. Heinz Beck’s cooking is less avant garde then the former, and it is certainly less traditional than the latter. But it is as good, and I am already craving for a return visit.

Grade: 18/20 VM