Pontevecchio Italian Bistro
Grazzi, a mother and a brother!!
The only mistake I made about choosing this small, delightful bistro to
review is assuming it needed my help. I met Michele Zacco, the owner, last year
through a mutual friend. He urged me to experience his twenty seats of pride and
joy...and am I happy I did!
 Situated "canal-side", across from the Adobe building in Fremont on
34th avenue, Pontevecchio fed us a meal to remember. Summer is officially
Tuesdays this year in Seattle, so we went for some seasonal fare on that day.
Michele was kind enough to do the ordering for us.
Our bare table was first filled with a wine from Sicily, Zacco's home town,
called Regaleali. The summer air breathed life into it in moments. "Do you
two like calamari?" After lengthily describing to us the marinating of the
calamari and the skewering of the pepper and the grilling of the thing, our ears
were left to do what our mouths wanted to do: eat something!
Nothing's ever rushed in this place. You want authentic Italian dining?
You've got it! This food takes time, so have some time to spend. The calamari
survived grilling but was slightly hard, the peppers were not. Brushed-on herbs
and olive oil stayed put and made it pretty delicious.
Next was the primi piatti, which is pasta or risotto. Zacco scored well on
this choice, too. Handmade mezzelune ravioli bathed in an oregano basted cream
sauce appeared. The smell was enough to call this a winner, but we cut through
a perfectly cooked al dente ravioli to reveal the tender chanterelle mushroom
inside. I was pleased the mushroom wasn't diced but left nearly whole. It made
you eat a mushroom instead of quickly downing some mush. The sauce was fragrant
and rich and pleasantly sopped up with the home baked olive-stuffed bread.
 The secondi piatti was a bit of a surprise to us because it was also a cream
sauce. This time a soft, velvety chicken breast with almond-infused cream. I
thought maybe a mistake had been made, but we went ahead with it, nonetheless.
It was an adequate dish, though not one I would have ordered had I done the
ordering. I thought maybe the proscuitto stuffed pork scallopine would have been
a better complement after a cream dish, but it was nothing to complain
about.
Zacco was so attentive and concerned with our experience that we didn't care
if we were eating egg salad sandwiches. He told us of the opera arias being
performed alternately with Spanish Flamenco dances each Saturday. This tiny
place was both a home and a stage for the senses to come for awakening.
We swooned at the cannolies that ended the meal. I was expecting some overly
sweet hit over the head but got a small ricotta-filled touch of divinity. Nobody
makes these better in town!... No! No one makes them at all! Try them!
I also had lunch on a "winter" afternoon, that being a Thursday. I
ordered the panini with salami, provolone and eggplant.
 An inquiry about soup temporarily surprised Michele. He had none, but offered
to make a small cioppino for me. I said, "Oh, no, no...!" He wouldn't
hear of it. "I make for you..." Minutes later he emerged with a
concoction I could have bathed in. Fresh cut tomatoes, basil, fish stock and
seafood combined to make the most delicious soup I'd ever had, bar none!
The sandwich took forever (I think they forgot to heat the panini machine)
and it didn't come close to the soup. I was glad the bread was thin on the
sandwich or I couldn't have gotten through it.
Chocolate gelato followed with caramel syrup and I couldn't allow myself more
than a taste or two. I would order it as an entree if it came that way. Soooooo
Goooood!
Eat at Pontevecchio! You'll love it!
Potevecchio, (206)633-3989.
710 North 34th Street, Seattle
Reservations and credit cards accepted.
Frank Wail lives and works in Seattle, is wanted in nine counties for various charges (none of them felonies) and can be found with
exceptional collection of New York magazines at Serafina Friday through Monday.
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