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Il Valletto may be a small place, but chef-owner's big on fine cooking Friday, September 24, 1999 By Woodene Merriman, Post-Gazette Dining Critic
It's a tiny, one-room restaurant, next to some old Oakland houses and across the street from a gas station. The previous restaurant in this spot failed, and before that it was a pizzeria.
In good weather you can eat out front, almost on the sidewalk, on shaky white plastic tables. Don't look around too much, or you'll see an old wine bottle and other debris in the ground next door, just a few feet away.
Who would want to eat in a place like this?
Try getting into Il Valletto for dinner without a reservation and you'll find out.
Tonight we've seen several couples, wine bottles under their arms, told to come back later. Inside and out, the restaurant is full.
Il Valletto is the creation of Mario Marotta, who came to America from Italy about 10 years ago, after working in the big-name restaurants in Venice and meeting Rachel, the woman from Michigan who would become his wife, there. He worked first in Miami, then at the Colony in Scott. For the last six years, he was the maitre d'.
Now he's in his own kitchen, making everything from salad dressings to desserts. He opened this little restaurant in May 1998, and after a slow start, it has taken off.
We're in luck. Marotta bought some halibut at Benkovitz's in the Strip today, and is poaching it in parchment as one of the specials. The fish is glossy white and delicate, served in the folded parchment along with the poaching liquid of dry white wine, basil, parsley, bits of tomato and kalamata olives. It's one of the best fish entrees I've had in Pittsburgh.
Each day Marotta has a fish of the day that can be prepared one of three ways -- in the parchment, romano (egg battered with lemon and romano cheese), or alla mugnaia, with a reduced white sauce and lemon.
Since this is an Italian restaurant, it follows that pastas are also among the best selling entrees. I ordered tagliatelle with pesto and pecorino cheese sauce one night, and was delighted that (1) the pesto sauce was light but had lots of basil, and (2) the serving was a reasonable size, not Pittsburgh gargantuan.
When I had penne with tuna, a light marinara sauce, olives, capers and onion, though, it was a huge serving. Go figure.
The selection of pastas, incidentally, is long, ranging from the chef's choice of pasta with fresh tomato basil parmigiano ($8.95) to orecchiete (little ears) with rapini, tomatoes and sausage pecorino ($11.95). Chicken and veal dishes are available, too. A simple but very good dish is veal scaloppine with red wine and mushrooms.
Pasta dishes are served with a house salad (typical Italian, with ceci beans among the greens). Fish, chicken and meat entrees are served with the salad and pasta or vegetables. Another night we had carrots and overcooked snow peas, studded with red tomato; tonight it's green beans with bits of tomato.
Marotta comes up with some fine appetizers, such as the potato pie we had tonight. It's a lot like well-seasoned mashed potatoes with a crust and a little tomato basil sauce. The price of $5.95 seems high for a serving of basically mashed potatoes, but we're not complaining. It's delicious.
Another good appetizer that Marotta has as a special when asparagus is available is simply asparagus, coated with oil and broiled, and served with grated and shredded Parmesan cheese ($6.95).
For dessert, the restaurant's own lemon custard cake is superb. Ground almonds are in the coarse-textured cake, and real lemon peel is used in the custard filling. (I know, because two thin but rather large pieces of peel were still in my custard.) It's his sister's recipe, Marotta says, and it's a good one.
We've also had the cannoli with the not overly sweet chocolate filling, another good dessert, but have not tried the tiramisu or the napoleons.
For lunch, the restaurant features the popular pastas at lunch sizes and prices ($4.95 for chef's pasta choice with fresh tomato basil parmigiano and a salad.) Or, there is a selection of salads and Tuscan bread sandwiches.
There is no ambiance at Il Valletto. Of necessity, tables are close together. Be prepared to walk sideways through them if you go to the rest room. Strangely, the ladies room is spacious. But one night I had to push stacked chairs aside to get in the door.
Il Valletto has everything going for it but the space itself. Marotta says he has no plans to move to larger, finer quarters, get a liquor license and go big time. Il Valletto is much like a small New York City restaurant, he points out.
"I'm staying here for now," Marotta says. "I think small places are coming back."
For his customers, that is also good news. When you can take your own wine, the food is superb and dinner is less than $15 a person, who cares about ambiance?
Il Valletto
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Hours: Lunch, Tuesday-Friday, 11:45 a.m.-2:15 p.m.; dinner, Monday-Saturday, 5- 10 p.m. Closed Sunday.