Cuisine:

• Others
• Italian
• Contemporary

La Pietra Cucina Description:
Atlanta-born chef Bruce Logue has worked in this country (at Mario Batali's Babbo) and in Italy. He is totally devoted to Italian culinary sensibilities, but with a contemporary twist that's thoroughly rooted in authenticity. Thus, his approach to calamari---not the typical fried style---presents butter-tender sweet rings bathed in a light, zingy tomato broth flecked with black olives and touched by the right amount of spicy heat. Diced raw tuna formed into a cake comes in an intensely flavored cucumber broth. House-made Calabrese sausage joins forces with a side of pickled vegetables. (Logue makes everything from the breads to salumi to gelati in house---even his own ricotta.) The panzanella, with homemade croutons, tangles cherry tomatoes with fresh basil and a sherry vinaigrette, the croutons absorbing its flavors without becoming soggy. Any of a number of main dishes would please, but pay close attention to the specials, which might include veal tongue, lamb sirloin (served over barley and topped with grilled white asparagus) or porchetta. If appetite allows, get the chocolate dessert of the day. Missing, and we think needed, is a cheese offering. The wine list is focused on well-priced Italian selections, with good choices by the glass and a bottle presentation at the table for those that are so ordered. To find this hard-to-spot restaurant, go up the side street to the valet parking behind the building.


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