Asti Trattoria

Asti Trattoria Restaurant Review:

This charming little taste of Italy offers sophistication in a funky Hyde Park neighborhood. Creative fare from the seasonally changing menu is ferried by a friendly staff that is always helpful --- yet sometimes hovering --- with good food and wine recommendations. First course options are wide and varied, from cured meat samplers to beets in a cherry-almond-ginger agrodolce (sweet and sour). Entrées include generous pasta and risotto selections as well as grilled and roasted meats. In the first category, we lean toward the seafood risotto with saffron tomato sauce. In the latter, the tender-belly bone-in pork chop with smoked sun-dried tomato passata is a hands-down favorite. When lunching, we usually grab a quick pizza --- try the Brussels sprout pie, balanced with guanciale (cured pork jowl), dried fig and Fontina. The trattoria boasts cool swivel stools at the shiny stainless-topped bar, a good place to watch the open-kitchen chefs perform their culinary tricks.