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Bistro Provides Value, Quality Dishes
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| FAMILY-OPERATED BISTRO. Owner Stefano Colaiacomo (right) and his staff stand in the modern dining room at North Long Beach’s Il Poggio. —Gazette photo by Maureen Vastardis |
By Larry Hill
Gazette Restaurant Writer
Il Poggio, 3819 Atlantic Blvd., 424-6800.
• Hours: From 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for lunch and dinner every day except Sunday.
• Location: In the heart of Bixby Knolls, just north of Bixby Boulevard and Atlantic. Street parking is plentiful.
• Staff/Service: Staff is friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. Service was fast.
• Food/Drinks: Appetizers include Bruschetta, Caprese, Prosciutto and Melon, Calamari Fritti, Carpaccio del Giorno and Portobello alla Griglia. Dinner salads include Caesar, Spinach and Melon, Vegetarian and Mushroom and Lemon.
Pasta dishes include spaghetti many ways, like pomodoro, carbonara, beef ragu, and arribiata. Risotto dishes include mixed seafood and saffron, fresh mushrooms and clams, and chicken, broccoli, fresh tomato and garlic.
There are many homemade ravioli dishes including zucca with butternut squash, raisins, walnuts and ricotta cheese with sage, spicy tomato sauce and shaved Parmesan; porcini; gamberi with shrimp in tomato Marsala sauce; and spinach with butter and Parmesan.
• Dinner entrées include veal, chicken, lamb, salmon and shrimp. There are specials that range from Cornish game hens to quail, frogs legs and wild boar.
Luncheons include Panini, chicken, grilled loin of beef, prosciutto, tuna, smoked ham, Gorgonzola, salmon and meatballs.
• Atmosphere: The dining room is a funky, modern bistro with stained concrete floor and a wine bar. There is a large patio for al fresco dining if you prefer.
• The Taste: In these economic times Il Poggio has positioned itself to offer uncommon value. Jennifer and I stopped for dinner the day after Thanksgiving. We had an appetizer, two dinners, dessert, coffee, and I had a bottle of wine; the total for all of this was $65. Sure the $15 bottle of cab won’t send the oenophiles racing for the Riedel stemware, but it was a serviceable plonk. When was the last time you saw a decent bottle of wine in a restaurant for $15? 1973?
Alessandro brought our breadbasket and water within minutes of seating. Their version of focaccia is some of the best bread in Long Beach. After inhaling a few slabs with vinegar and oil, we turned our attention to calamari fritti. Alessandro brought a generous serving of perfectly cooked calamari plated with lime wedges and spicy arribiata sauce. The breading was lightly salted with a nice crunch, and the calamari was tender and juicy.
Jennifer opted for the homemade spinach ravioli with butter and Parmesan. A dozen bright green ravioli arrived in what might best be called a cake pan. The color was astounding; not that dull green of store-bought spinach ravioli but more like the bright green of butter lettuce. The ravioli were stuffed spinach and ricotta and toped with melted butter and shaved Parmesan cheese. It was delicate and perfectly balanced in its simplicity.
I selected one of the specials: a rack of baby back ribs of wild boar. Karim would have loved this dish as his uncle once said that wild boar was not pork. The taste was milder than the typical pork ribs; there was no gamey taste and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender. The full rack sat atop creamy Parmesan polenta and was topped with a sweet balsamic reduction and fresh arugula. Fantastic!
We finished with profiteroles stuffed with whipped cream sitting atop sweetened marscapone cheese with strawberry wedges and dark chocolate. As I said, all of this wonderfully prepared food comes with prices that are mindful of the economy.
Il Poggio is family-owned and operated. The kitchen and front manager will be familiar to many Long Beach diners, for they are transplants from L ’Opera and daVinci. So, excellent service (Alessandro is great), excellent food with selections like wild boar, quail and homemade ravioli, lasagna with ground beef that are not found in most places in Long Beach, and the prices are great. What are you waiting for?
• Price: Lunch for two is $15 to $20 and dinner for two is $25 for basic dining to $75 with wine, appetizers, dessert and coffee.
• Hours: From 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for lunch and dinner every day except Sunday.
• Location: In the heart of Bixby Knolls, just north of Bixby Boulevard and Atlantic. Street parking is plentiful.
• Staff/Service: Staff is friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. Service was fast.
• Food/Drinks: Appetizers include Bruschetta, Caprese, Prosciutto and Melon, Calamari Fritti, Carpaccio del Giorno and Portobello alla Griglia. Dinner salads include Caesar, Spinach and Melon, Vegetarian and Mushroom and Lemon.
Pasta dishes include spaghetti many ways, like pomodoro, carbonara, beef ragu, and arribiata. Risotto dishes include mixed seafood and saffron, fresh mushrooms and clams, and chicken, broccoli, fresh tomato and garlic.
There are many homemade ravioli dishes including zucca with butternut squash, raisins, walnuts and ricotta cheese with sage, spicy tomato sauce and shaved Parmesan; porcini; gamberi with shrimp in tomato Marsala sauce; and spinach with butter and Parmesan.
• Dinner entrées include veal, chicken, lamb, salmon and shrimp. There are specials that range from Cornish game hens to quail, frogs legs and wild boar.
Luncheons include Panini, chicken, grilled loin of beef, prosciutto, tuna, smoked ham, Gorgonzola, salmon and meatballs.
• Atmosphere: The dining room is a funky, modern bistro with stained concrete floor and a wine bar. There is a large patio for al fresco dining if you prefer.
• The Taste: In these economic times Il Poggio has positioned itself to offer uncommon value. Jennifer and I stopped for dinner the day after Thanksgiving. We had an appetizer, two dinners, dessert, coffee, and I had a bottle of wine; the total for all of this was $65. Sure the $15 bottle of cab won’t send the oenophiles racing for the Riedel stemware, but it was a serviceable plonk. When was the last time you saw a decent bottle of wine in a restaurant for $15? 1973?
Alessandro brought our breadbasket and water within minutes of seating. Their version of focaccia is some of the best bread in Long Beach. After inhaling a few slabs with vinegar and oil, we turned our attention to calamari fritti. Alessandro brought a generous serving of perfectly cooked calamari plated with lime wedges and spicy arribiata sauce. The breading was lightly salted with a nice crunch, and the calamari was tender and juicy.
Jennifer opted for the homemade spinach ravioli with butter and Parmesan. A dozen bright green ravioli arrived in what might best be called a cake pan. The color was astounding; not that dull green of store-bought spinach ravioli but more like the bright green of butter lettuce. The ravioli were stuffed spinach and ricotta and toped with melted butter and shaved Parmesan cheese. It was delicate and perfectly balanced in its simplicity.
I selected one of the specials: a rack of baby back ribs of wild boar. Karim would have loved this dish as his uncle once said that wild boar was not pork. The taste was milder than the typical pork ribs; there was no gamey taste and the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender. The full rack sat atop creamy Parmesan polenta and was topped with a sweet balsamic reduction and fresh arugula. Fantastic!
We finished with profiteroles stuffed with whipped cream sitting atop sweetened marscapone cheese with strawberry wedges and dark chocolate. As I said, all of this wonderfully prepared food comes with prices that are mindful of the economy.
Il Poggio is family-owned and operated. The kitchen and front manager will be familiar to many Long Beach diners, for they are transplants from L ’Opera and daVinci. So, excellent service (Alessandro is great), excellent food with selections like wild boar, quail and homemade ravioli, lasagna with ground beef that are not found in most places in Long Beach, and the prices are great. What are you waiting for?
• Price: Lunch for two is $15 to $20 and dinner for two is $25 for basic dining to $75 with wine, appetizers, dessert and coffee.
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