Food

Riviera Focacceria, Liguria in Midtown

Riviera Focacceria Miami is an unlikely find in Midtown. According to Fabio Domenichini, the owner who hails from Genoa, it’s one of only a few restaurants serving Ligurian cuisine in the USA. If you’ve been to Genoa or the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Sorrento, Capri, etc), you’ve sampled the delicate cuisine which primarily revolves around fresh seafood, pesto (basil and olive oil), pastas, gnocchi, pine nuts, and tomato sauce made with the small, exquisite Taggiasca black olives. The olives are also used for oil which is among the priciest in the country. Riviera Focacceria is a trattoria that’s welcoming, friendly, and authentic. You see a lot of Italians there, especially at lunch, which is the best sign. Plus, it’s the kind of place you’ll go back to and they’ll remember you after one visit.

Their signature is what gives Riviera its name — the focaccia. Forget the focaccia you get in many Italian restaurants that’s generally tasteless, and served cold. Here it comes warm and stuffed with stracciatella cheese — lush, creamy and literally flowing out of the thin pockets of dough. It also comes topped with gorgonzola, pesto or homemade tomato sauce. Definitely start with that.

Starters worth noting are the tuna tartare with pesto accompanied by a fennel and orange salad, a complex and satisfying combo. My dining companion, my picky foodie son, had the poached octopus with potato, celery, Taggiasca olives, and cherry tomatoes that he proclaimed tender, moist, tasting like the ocean, the best he has eaten since Spain, a capital of fine seafood.

The dish to get here is the pasta or gnocchi, both housemade. The owner’s recommendation and fine one was the mandilli (translated means handkerchief) di seta al pesto, a wide, ribbon like pasta with sweet basil, pine nuts, touch of garlic, extra virgin olive oil and parmigiano cheese. It tasted like an herb garden with just the right amount of garlic for a kick, and the pasta perfectly al dente.

The other choice we followed was the ravioli al ragu genovese with beef, green chard, spinach, parmigiano and marjoram in Genovese beef ragout. Also super tasty, and it was obvious it was fresh and homemade.

For gnocchi and spaghetti lovers, there’s a wide selection, with everything from eggplant and seafood to tomato and pesto. For secondi, the signature dishes are the tonno alla ligure, tuna seared with capers, pine nuts, parsley, Taggiasca olives on a chickpea puree, and pan seared cod in a tomato sauce. Though both sound very good, next time I’m going to try the veal milanese which the owner said is a big step above all the others you find around town both for the quality of the veal and his frying technique. It’s served with arugula and chopped tomato.

Do leave room for the ricotta cheesecake with a strawberry sauce that’s exceptionally light and delicious. And the crostata, the Italian version of a fruit tart, is also delicious.

Prices are very reasonable. Appetizers, pastas, gnocchi and focaccias are all are in the teens, and portions are good sized (sharing for smaller eaters). Secondi range from $16 to $29 for a bistecca alla griglia and sides are $4 or $5.

A glass of wine starts at $8 and bottles at $32 (for a 6 ounce pour).They also serve the Ligurian Pigato wine that’s very exclusive, with a production of only 1500 bottles a year. It’s priced at $12 for a glass and $49 for a bottle, but it was sold out the night I went, and they were waiting for their next shipment.

Riviera Focacceria Italiana, 3252 N.E.Buena Vista Blvd. (T.786-220-6251) is open for lunch and dinner. At lunch there’s a selection of focaccia sandwiches and salads, all $10 to $12 and outdoor seating. There’s good, reasonably priced parking in the garage of The Shops of Midtown.