If you really want a fast-track course on the cuisine of Italy, watch actor Stanley Tucci’s “Searching for Italy” on CNN on Demand, wherein he explores 20 regional foodways. If theory is less important to you than the joy of the chomp, you might want to try out various eateries with unique takes on this nuanced cuisine. At Art Basil in Lantana, food, art and live music conjoin in an atmosphere reminiscent of Bologna, Italy’s hipster capital, a city of art and learning. Go for the food, stay for the atmosphere. The colorful dining area and bar are open to a large front terrace. Inside, the walls are lined with the revolving monthly art exhibit.
For a light meal, order a pizza. They’re awfully good! (Thank you, Naples, for creating pizza over a hundred years ago!) The dough is chewy, the rich mozzarella dense and flavorful (have you ever noticed how some pizza cheese has no flavor?), and the sauce blissfully not sweetened. Like its namesake, fresh basil shreds dot the pies and many dishes. Among the 12-inch “gourmet artisan” pies, “Hedy’s Pizzetta” white pie is loaded with asiago cheese and arugula. The “Cacciatore” (hunter’s style) includes the mandatory mushrooms and roasted red peppers plus truffle oil to enhance the woodsy theme. A personal favorite is Spicy Hot Oil, a mozzarella pie with chili-infused olive oil and hot cherry peppers. Both 14- and 18-inch hand-tossed pizzas and Sicilian pies are offered with toppings such as prosciutto, artichoke and broccoli rabe.
At Art Basil, try the untraditional Iceberg Wedge. Loaded with creamy Gorgonzola chunks, walnuts, raspberry puree, Italian dressing, a drizzle of balsamic and roasted pear slices, this is more than you’d ever expect from a Wedge! Follow with some pasta, perhaps the unctuous Beggar’s Purses, cheese and pear-stuffed pouches that arrive in a sage cream sauce laced with truffle oil. Or maybe Lobster Ravioli, tossed with sautéed shallots, roasted grape tomatoes and brandy, in a tomato cream sauce. Eggplant Parmigiana has two siblings at Art Basil: Eggplant Bella, layered with basil and capers, and Eggplant Nouveau, layered with spinach and sundried tomatoes, both topped with mozzarella and whipped ricotta.
Chicken and veal are favored meats in Italy. Chicken and veal are prepared here Parmagiana, Marsala, Piccata, Francese, or Valdostana, layered with Parma ham, provolone, and fresh tomato in a cream sauce, rather than the traditional light brown. For meat lovers, try the 8 oz. filet swathed in green peppercorn brandy sauce or Lollipop Cluster, baby lamb chops and asparagus over Gorgonzola mashed potatoes with a mint veal demi-glace. The seafood stews of coastal Italy are echoed in Seafood di Mari with mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari and scallops in house-made marinara (seaman’s style, the preferred sauce of merchants on long sea voyages!) Dessert? We only have eyes for the tiramisu. It’s rich and it’s big, enough for four, because you likely can’t eat the whole thing!
