Procacci

September 15, 2013

This was a L.A. Lunch at Procacci sometime back in the earlier part of the year. Procacci is quite the understated Italian restaurant located at the popular waterfront Customs House. It kind of reminds me of that average B-student in class that nobody quite notices. It's reliable and good, but not exceptional or great. So even if they don't quite garner awards for the best Italian fare around, they do serve up pretty decent stuff. Traditional stuff, that is. Because they focus on the traditional and eschew the modern. While dinners aren't particularly easy on the wallet, they offer a very reasonably-priced weekday set lunch at $35++ for 2 courses and $45++ for 3 courses. The downside of the very-value-for-money set lunch offer is that service tends towards the choppy and harried during busy weekday lunches.

The Zuppa di Funghi, a creamy seasonal mushroom and vegetables soup was made aromatic with a drizzle of truffle oil.

The Insalata di Cesare, baby romaine lettuce laden generously with shreds of parboiled salmon and bacon bits, and dressed in a traditional aioli, made for a substantive meal on its own.

The Penne Carbonara was the right balance of egg yolk, cream, and parmesan, texturised with bacon and spiked with black pepper.

The Gnocchi stile “Sorrentina”, chewy and soft homemade potato dumplings tossed with a peppery basil-infused tomato and mozzarella cheese sauce.

The Aqua Pazza, a lightly battered and fried hake fish was doused in a tomato seafood broth with capers, olives and herbs. A lemon wedge cut through the rich pool with a sharp acidity.

The Agnello alla Griglia con Arrosto Patate, grilled lamb served alongside a minty yoghurt raita and roasted baby potatoes was great for the meat-lovers. The lamb was fresh and tender, with a beautiful charring and smokiness.