After sitting in a sterile, white office building twiddling your well-manicured thumbs at your internship, the best thing to counter feelings of self-doubt, self-worthlessness and anxiety about graduating with a journalism degree is to head to Newbury Street. Blowing the $88 in your combined checking and savings accounts on something completely irrational but necessary, i.e. $88 worth of chocolate-covered gummy bears at that eye-tickling and annoyingly audible sweet shop adjacent to the Commons. Redirect your diabetes-inducing habits toward Piattini Trattoria, the new gelateria/caf’eacute; in the Back Bay.
With seating for about 40, Piattini is the newest venture from the same people who brought you the wine bar of the same name next door. With wooden d’eacute;cor, an espresso bar and available seating in the window, the space is great for an aperitif post-retail therapy.
Start with the almond salad, with mesclun, baby spinach, Gorgonzola and toasted almonds with a tarragon vinaigrette ($7.95); the smoked salmon, baby spinach, capers and house dressing salad ($8.95); or the ricotta, baby spinach and oven-dried cherry tomatoes ($7.95), but, they’re not big enough to share, so don’t be cute and ask for two forks.
If you’re in less of a fiber-friendly mood (most likely from those weird Jamie Lee Curtis yogurt ads), opt for the Carpaccio app ($9.95); the prosciutto con mozzarella with fresh basil ($7.95); or the veal ravioli with fresh mushrooms and marsala sauce ($7.95).
The panini selection is really their schtick, most notably the pesto-laden namesake panini, with chicken cutlet, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and tomatoes ($8.95); the Tonno, with Italian tuna and onions ($6.95); or the rosemary ham and fontina panini ($7.95), an incredible medley of buttery toasted rustic white bread, smoked and herbed ham and creamy fontina that comes with a cold ziti salad on the side.
After your meal choose from a selection of imported Italian cheeses, including Tallegio, a washed-rind cheese that pairs nicely with the drizzled honey on the plate. The Branzi, a milder cheese, spreads well on the crostinis served alongside the cheese plate or drizzled with some of the house balsamic. After cheese, check out the daily gelato and sorbet offerings or their new ‘chunky hot chocolate’ ‘-‘- and ask for it con panna.
And finally: vino. Cheese is usually best with red, so I opt for a heavier red, especially if the cheese is more pungent (I’m a masochist and my digestive system is fully aware). The list is limited, but it’s all you really need and nicely arranged by dryness and heaviness. The Castle Rock Pinot Noir ($8/glass) is sweeter with a cherry tartness; the Valentin Biachi ’07 Malbec, an Argentinean rich wine with hints of spices (7, actually) and the DOCG Chianti (get me a spoon) is a really nice wine to just sit down in the window display and people-watch for a few hours, at least until your lunch break is up and back to the belt you go.
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