After a second failed attempt to dine at Barbacco (totally booked at 11:45am and doesn’t accept reservations…), the parents and I headed toward the Transamerica building for Italian fare at Aventine. As they say, “when one door closes, another door opens:” Aventine was surprisingly delightful. I have been there a few times for drinks, but have never eaten anything there, and was actually a little apprehensive about the portion sizes. Several factors – location, ambiance, genre – contributed to my hunch that portions would be “delicate.”
I was wrong. We started with the Bruschetta Trio ($8) which came with 8 large pieces, each several bites. Two were topped with tomatoes, two with mushrooms, and two with a mixed vegetable slaw. I ordered the muffaletta sandwich and actually had to remove some of the meat so I could better appreciate the perfectly toasted Italian bread. I only ate half and bagged the rest for dinner! My dad thoroughly enjoyed his ham & cheese sandwich and my mom was impressed with her chicken nicoise salad.
For reasons I am not sure, Aventine was pretty much empty. It’s a small space, so it didn’t feel awkward, but in the hour we were there, there were probably about six other diners. Normally, by 12:30pm on a Friday, everywhere in the Financial District is packed to the rafters, especially on a sunny day like today. This atypical situation translated to a peaceful ambiance and attentive service.
Very highly recommended. Aventine will stand out in mind above the rest.
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