Through a mistaken impression that the new restaurant Lucce had been open for a few months, we recently paid a visit with friends on what turned out to be its second weekend after opening. We’re happy to report that everyone in the kitchen and on the waitstaff was completely up to speed, and we were thrilled to be in on the beginning of what promises to be the happening bistro in Warwick.
Sister to East Greenwich’s Café Fresco, Lucce offers some of the same menu items, but it is also trying out new dishes. In addition, a few things that had only been offered as occasional specials at Café Fresco have hopped onto the regular menu at Lucce. I can’t go any farther without mentioning that one of those, among the appetizers, is the grilled calamari ($9). This won top prize at our table for the expert cooking of the rolled little squid bodies, grilled just to tenderness, smoky and delectable. They were served with a heap of sautéed spinach that was also unusually flavorful.
Other openers at the table were a Caesar salad and a panzanella salad with tomato and mozzarella. Although my tablemates seemed satisfied with their salads, I would have preferred crisper croutons (and better marinated ones in the panzanella, a bread salad). A nice touch was that same bread served warm with a fragrant olive oil and a complementary plate of olives and chunks of Parmesan cheese.
The salads were chosen as part of a “bistro menu” — three courses for $22, including one of those salads, chocolate mousse for dessert, and a choice of nine entrées. This menu is served Sunday through Friday, from 4 to 6 pm. Some of those entrées are on the regular menu: pork tenderloin; veal stew; a grilled vegetable platter; and the oven-roasted scrod. Others — such as “tossed lasagna,” with noodles, fresh mozzarella, and a Bolognese sauce; gnocchi with vodka sauce; and baked pasta with four cheeses, spinach, and eggplant — are not.
The latter really appealed to Bill, perhaps because of his ongoing desire to recreate a five-cheese pasta recipe from our culinary history. He loved how the shell pasta had been crisped (perhaps broiled) on top, so that there were texture contrasts with the baked and cheesy parts.
Our friend Mary Ellen chose the scrod, described as Florentine with a garlic pesto sauce, another spark to the mild-mannered fish. Indeed the fresh spinach and tomatoes were a nice accompaniment, and the olives and capers under and around the fish were piquant treats. The vegetable risotto on this plate was exquisite, creamy with crunch, hefty with bits of summer squash, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
Mary Ellen’s mate, Harold, and I also found ourselves swooning over our respective risottos. Mine sat next to the grilled ahi tuna puttanesca ($18) and Harold’s next to a perfectly cooked piece of halibut ($24). His fish was topped with a delicate mayo-red pepper oil glaze. The hefty olive-anchovy-caper-tomato combo known as puttanesca — said to be as alluring as the puttane (whores) for whom it was named — capped mine. The tuna was expertly done, its flavor made more tantalizing by its saucy sauce.
