I'm not going to lie to you--one of the joys of blogging is being invited to try out new (or new to me) restaurants for lunch and dinner. Earlier this week, I had a pleasure of joining Lindley who does PR for Potenza for lunch.
Although there were plenty of tempting cocktails on the menu, we both opted for sparkling lemonade--after all, we both had to go back to work.
As soon as we placed our orders, we received a plate of specialty olive oil with a basket of bread: a nice touch!
I started with a Chilled Golden Tomato Soup because if you know me, you know I love tomatoes. The soup had a smooth texture and a gorgeous gold color. It was a refreshing start to the meal, since the weather outside was nearly 90 degrees.
Lindley encouraged me to order at least one appetizer and promised to share. Who was I to say no? These were the best fried calamari I've had in a very long time. The batter was light and crispy; the calamari itself almost melted in your mouth.
For the main course I ordered a House Cured Salami Sub (finocchiona, spicy spressata, genoa & provolone romaine, red onions, sweet garlic & fresh oregano on Potenza's bakery's sesame baguette) that came with potato chips.
This was not your ordinary sandwich, and the chips were pretty special too. The baguette was hardy enough to withstand all of the fillings. The salami had a salty/cured taste and was nicely offset by the sweeter red onions.
The chips were extra thin and super crisp. If that wasn't enough, they were topped with cheese and fresh parsley. Needless to say, I could not finish the entire portion and took more than half back to work for lunch the following day.
Lindley had the pasta special that included Brussels sprouts, capers and tomatoes. The dish looked and tasted fresh and seasonal. It'd be a breeze to recreate at home.
After the meal, Ralph Rosenberg, Vice President of Operations and Partner of Stif Food Group, took me around the restaurant, explaining some of the architectural details, showing me the cold bar (oysters!!!), the station where salads and sandwiches are made and the bakery/cafe.
He also let me and Lindley taste a few gelatos and sorbets. Of course I had to try the mango one: success!
If you don't have time to sit down for a meal at Potenza, you can buy a few baked goods or prepared sandwiches to go. I especially liked the look of this Red Grape Foccacia because it reminded me of a Mini Grape Pie I made a while ago.
Turns out, Potenza also sells their own pickled vegetables and jarred Marinara Sauce. This brought back some memories of a pantry my family had in Russia filled with jars of canned goods my mom made: apricot jams, marinated tomatoes/peppers/carrots, sour cherries, strawberry preserves, etc.
And at the end Ralph twisted my hand and forced me to take a Nutella Bar to-go {I'm joking about twisting of the hand!!!}. I was happy to oblige and enjoyed this sweet treat the next day for breakfast.
This was a great leisurely lunch. I can't wait to check out another restaurant that is part of Stir Food: Zola Wine & Kitchen.
PS: did you notice my new header!? I am very thankful to Nicole for designing it: we bartered our skills: I taught her a knife skills lesson, she showed off her graphic design skills!
