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The DiVittos prepare superb Italian-American dishes at Lucchesi's Friday, September 11, 1998 By Woodene Merriman, Post-Gazette Dining Critic
Every Pittsburgher who appreciates good food should go to Lucchesi's in Monessen at least once.
It's a bit of a drive, I know, and a little expensive. And you can't wear your shorts and baseball cap, either. Owner/chef Les DiVitto insists on proper dress. Not so long go he refused to serve an important CEO who arrived in shorts.
But once you try Lucchesi's, you'll want to go back. Again and again. It's one of the best Italian-American restaurants around.
One way to determine how much you like a restaurant is to order a familiar dish, and see how it compares with that dish at other restaurants. I did that with the garlic shrimp, one of the simplest of entrees. Lucchesi's version was superb, the best I've ever had.
His Honor and I have been to Lucchesi's twice this summer, both times with friends, so I've had the opportunity to try quite a few entrees. And I've never been disappointed. The Virginia spots, sea bass with capers and lemon, veal scaloppine and veal in wine were all excellent. Only the thick cut of halibut, also prepared with capers and lemon, could have been improved if it had been taken off the stove a minute earlier. But then, most people seem to prefer their fish more done than I do.
We ordered the veal in wine one night on the advice of a single man at the next table. He said he has eaten at Lucchesi's twice a week for the last 20 years, and it's his favorite.
As he said, it's a wonderful entree. Slices of veal loin are lightly breaded, deglazed with white wine, veal stock and butter. For the scaloppine, DiVitto flours the veal and uses marsala wine.
DiVitto, who personally prepares every entree to order, has a guiding philosophy: "Good food is not cheap, cheap food is no good." So the veal dishes are made with veal loin shipped in from Chicago, the red and yellow peppers for the roasted pepper appetizers are from Holland, and DiVitto is a regular in the Strip District, picking out his own ingredients.
That Pittsburgh original, crab Hoelzel, prepared DiVitto style, has a delicate taste. He uses juicy, lump crab meat. Sometimes the tarragon is fresh, sometimes dried. He puts the same crab meat on a lettuce leaf and serves it with cocktail sauce for the crabmeat cocktail appetizer.
But his (and his customers') favorite appetizers are mafalda and roasted peppers with Havarti cheese. DiVitto, who often comes out to the dining room in his whites to talk with guests, tells this story, which I don't believe for a minute: He was having an affair with another woman. When his wife found out about it, he took her some roasted peppers and mafalda, and all was forgiven. (Perhaps DiVitto should send some of each to President Clinton.)
Mafalda are like narrow lasagne noodles. DiVitto dresses them with a delicate sauce made with chicken stock, marinara sauce, and bits of onion, zucchini and olives. He roasts the red and yellow peppers himself, dresses them with garlic, oil, salt and pepper, and serves them with triangles of Havarti -- a perfect combination.
DiVitto's attention to details surely is a big part of his success. He tells about the problem he was having with Land O' Lakes butter in the garlic shrimp some time ago. "I use 50 pounds of that butter a week," he told me , "so I called them up in Minneapolis, and they sent a man here to see what was wrong." Nothing amiss was detected, but as a result, he is now using whipped butter in preparing the shrimp; the water content of the whipped product makes a sauce that is almost creamy.
The wine "list" at Lucchesi's is actually a book showing many of the labels from the wines they carry, primarily from California and Italy. Almost every table had a bottle when we were there. The restaurant has an unusual way of serving bottles, though. The wine is opened at the bar, then the cork put back in place to be served. Why? DiVitto says it takes a certain flair to open a wine bottle, and he thinks it is better done at the bar.
If you go to Lucchesi's, don't be put off by the outside appearance. It looks like it could be just another bar in another mill town along the Monongahela. The surprise comes when you see the European-looking small dining room, all white tablecloths, white napkins, flowers on the table, and a smiling waitress waiting to seat you. It could be the DiVittos' daughter, Susan Tedesco, who works part-time. Their son, Edmund, is the bartender.
Les DiVitto, now 68, was a steel worker for 20 years. In the early 1970s, he left the mill and talked the late chef, Dino Nardi, who had retired after many years at the old Park Schenley restaurant, into teaching him to cook.
Les and Pauline work together in the kitchen. She makes the salads and the dressings. When I asked for the house dressing on the side for my salad, the waitress urged me not to. "She [Pauline] has a touch. She tosses it just right with the dressing. It's much better to let her mix it," she said. The waitress was right. Pauline has a light touch, and dribbling dressing over the greens in the dining room would not have been so effective.
Pauline makes some of the desserts, too. Creme brulee, cheesecake, and pecan balls are on the menu, and often there are specials, like Pauline's tiramisu. One of our group ordered a pecan ball the first night we were there, and it was terrific, made with glazed pecan halves. When we went back and ordered it again, the pecans were not glazed and it was nothing special. Later on the phone, I asked Les DiVitto why there was a difference.
"We roast the pecans in the oven with brown sugar. That's what gives them the nice glaze. We must have run out that night," he said. Then I could hear him chuckling and shouting across the kitchen: "Hey, Pauline! This lady caught you."
Lucchesi's
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Hours:Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.