Archive: Around Town

Food BitesLASAGNE (Italian spelling)

Click here for a Simple baked Lasagna recipe

To me, Lasagna is the epitome of comfort food. I did not grow up in an Italian household, but even so, my mid-western mother incorporated it into the regular meals that showed up on our table. What is it about lasagna that is so compelling? From a plebian perspective, the texture is soft and warm, with the sharply acidic tomato sauce- a perfect foil for the rich, oozy cheese and pasta layers. Then if you tuck in savory chunks of sausage, beef, or roasted vegetables… Cara mia.! “what a delight!”

The scientists, currently digging into the food connected parts of our mind have discovered:

• Energy ingestion is the brain’s first priority. (Lasagna is not low calorie)
• The taste for fat adds to sensory pleasure. (We knew that☺)
• Opioid peptides play a special role in prolonging a good meal.
• Sweet +fat +salt combos are the best opioid releasers (like Lasagna).
• Eating carbs make us happy.

In Italy, Nonna (Italian for grandmother) didn’t have these facts, but she knew, the best way to celebrate a special event was to make lasagne. I quote Lynne Kasper, in The Italian Country Table, “Nearly as many versions of ‘lasagne’ exist as there are nonnas. Each signaled an occasion. Lasagna was not everyday food. For some it marked the special birth of a girl. O other areas require it at holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Lasagne is often a required food at weddings. An old saying, ‘swimming in lasagna’ means to be in the money.” Not surprising, because the ingredients, necessary to make ‘a real lasagna’, do cost a bit of money.

As I sat here thinking about fall foods, lasagna rose unbidden to my mind, and I thought, “Why not write a review of lasagnas in the Tompkins County area. There must be others like me out there, who with the chill of fall on their cheeks, are seeking to satisfy their inner bear. This is not a competition piece, but simply a descriptive piece. Everybody grew up with a different type of lasagna, and the greatest comfort is often finding one out there ‘like mom made’. Of course, those of you who are adventuresome foodies, may be called to savor other styles than you are used to. I will sort the one’s I tasted into stylistic categories: traditional American, traditional Italian, and alternative.

I was not able to taste everybody’s lasagna, and I encourage those of you eating Italian in Tompkins County and beyond, to write me about your experiences and family recipes, as well.
Proper lasagna taste requires proper reheating.

Heating Instructions:
Microwave the lasagna for 2-1/2 minutes on high (depending on the power of your oven). Using a conventional oven, heat lasagna at about 300°F for about 25 minutes, in either case, you want to achieve an internal tem¬perature of 165°F.



Traditional American

Joe’s Restaurant at 602 West Buffalo Street is an Ithacan icon of Italian food for everyone.
Joe’s has been operating since the early 1930's. Although owners have changed, their philosophy remains the same, “In the spirit of the Italian culture, our dishes are served family style and are meant to be shared. As always, all of our dinners come with Joe's bottomless salad bowl and breadsticks.” The restaurant has multiple dining rooms and is designed in a slightly retro-classic style.

Joe’s lasagna is an ‘American, classic’ lasagna, dependable and middle of the road in attitude.
It is quite cheesy (4 cheeses) tasting, although not goopy in texture. The layering is an excellent balance of pasta, cheese, meat, and sauce. It is served in the restaurant with a bubbly topping of mozzarella, sauce and meatballs. The sauce is home-made, but not notable for herby taste. The meatballs add an extra hearty surprise to the plate.

The lasagna is available in different sizes: Piccolo $11.99 (light portion), Grande $15.99 (serves 1-2 guests), Famiglia (serves 3-5 guests) $29.99

CTB/Ithaca Bakery
When you are looking for lunch out, frequently people think of the College Town Bagels & Ithaca Bakery as an excellent option. Their cooking/restaurant philosophy:
“At the Ithaca Bakery, we feed our customers more than food. We seek to offer high quality, unique, delicious food—superior products that are fresh and consistent, using top-notch ingredients—as well as excellent, personal service in a warm, nurturing environment.”

Notable in town for providing a range of taste experiences from around the globe, it is not surprising that CTB/IB produce a range of lasagna varieties through the year, including 3 vegetarian varieties. The one they chose for us to sample was ‘Sausage’ lasagna.

The overall texture of the sausage lasagna was quite firm. Instead of overlapping strips of pasta, they use prepared large sheets.  The sauce was very light and well pureed. The sausage chunks were generous and not spicy at all, for those of you sensitive to strong flavors. The ricotta layer was noticeably dominant and fluffy in texture. In addition to ricotta they use mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. The picky eater will be happy with this lasagna because it is light on herbs and spices. (Found in the refrigerator case or on the hotbar: $4.50, 4”w. x 4”h. x 5”d.)

Lucatelli’s* Placed both under Traditional American and Traditional Italian for several reasons. The home-made lasagna noodles, light stacking, three meat blend, and use of nutmeg, place it in the ‘Traditional Italian Category. Yet the flavor is decidedly more ‘American’ in effect. I imagine the taste of their lasagna has evolved from grandmother Nonna’s home cooked lasagna to one more accepted by the American palate. See below for full description.

Traditional Italian

Little Venice Ristorante
My husband and I stumbled upon Little Venice on Main Street in Trumansburg by accident one day. We were out antiquing and missed lunch. With our stomachs growling we decided to try Little Venice Ristorante. I reasoned the last place I had seen the word ristorante was in Italy. It was early and the restaurant was fairly dark inside. The restaurant is a long large room divided into a forward seating area, middle and back area and the long bar to the side. This is a place you can take your family to in their normal state of dress, enjoy an excellent meal and leave with money still in your pocket. We had the veal that day. It was excellent and plenty to share.

Little Venice’s sauce is rich and bright- very fresh tasting tomato. The seasoning is medium spicy and the herbs are distinctive. When the first bite goes in your mouth, you taste the delicious Bolognese blend (veal, beef, and pork) of meat first. The flavors of cheese are not overly strong but blend perfectly with the noodles and sauce.

"My lasagna is homemade just like Mom's with homemade egg noodles, homemade bolognese sauce (3 different meats), homemade bechamel sauce (roasted garlic cream sauce), homemade marinara sauce, 5 different cheeses (ricatone, pecorino, mozzarella. romano, parmesan), select spices and herbs and a little bit of love," says Steve at Little Venice.

What you really notice in the traditional Italian lasagna is the creamy homemade ‘bechamel’ sauce between the layers. The noodles are home-made as well. You can tell because the consistency is springy and has a fresh egg flavor. ($13.99 with a side salad or modest salad bar)

Napoli Pizza
**I missed the lasagna pick-up when I had the flu.
Egg noodles stuffed with mozzarella and ricotta cheese, chopped meatballs and sauce. ($11.50)


ZaZa’s Cucina
ZaZa’s is found at the corner of Cascadilla Road and Route 13, across from Purity Ice cream.
It was a decidedly ambitious conversion from the former video rental palace to upscale restaurant. It is discreetly elegant on the outside, when you walk through the door it is an amazing transition, almost as if you are transported to an elegant restaurant in NYC or Los Angeles.

The main dining room is expansive with a recessed dining area in the center bordered by large, dark, Doric columns. The ceiling is draped in luxurious fabric that absorbs sound, so that the conversation is all a soft, private, background hum. The elegant bar down the East end of the restaurant is comfortable and well appointed with top shelf liquor and a sparkling tall, porcelain tap for draft beers. The North end of ZaZa’s is a long open counter with full view into the clean, bustling kitchen. Delicious odors waft towards the bar, stimulating one’s appetite into full awareness.

“ZaZa’s lasagna is not like other lasagna’s”, Lex explains. His wife and mother-in-law make everything by hand, the old country way: sauce, pasta, blend of 3 meats, and béchamel sauce. Everything made with the freshest ingredients and given the right amount of time to simmer and blend tastes. The lasagna is constructed with 9 layers of their freshly made egg noodle. The noodle is thinner than most people expect and layered with the fresh, creamy, béchamel sauce- not tomato sauce. The tomato sauce is draped on top with the final layer of fresh mozzarella and aged parmesan that is lightly bubbled in the oven.

The final presentation is not stiff and high, but relaxed and spread low in the dish. My husband and I sat at the bar and ate it with a freshly baked, stiff crusted roll with a small dish of fresh olive oil, sun dried tomato puree, and a basil pesto. I thought I would have a few bites for the tasting and let my husband finish it, but I could not stop. The noodles are delicate, the béchamel overwhelming in it’s complexity, the nutmeg note high and clear. The sauce is Nonna’s and has no doubt simmered on the stove until all the spices are sharing evenly and the deep dark richness of the tomatoes are singing true. I understood why we had to eat the lasagna on site. If you take the lasagna home to reheat it would not hold up texturally and the tasting would suffer.

The total affect of the lasagne is transporting. It takes you with closed eyes over to southern Italy, to a real trattoria. Yes it is expensive at $17.00 price per dish alone, but… if you want a special meal, at a special place, it is worth every penny. For the price, you get the meal and an evening’s trip to Italy.

Lucatelli’s
The Lucatelli family has been providing food in Ithaca in one guise or another since the early 60’s. Guiliano Lucatelli immigrated from Carpineto, Romano, Italy. “To this day, Lucatelli's Ristorante is still family owned and operated, with the third generation of Lucatellis bringing you fine Italian dining in Ithaca, NY. Lucatelli's prides itself on serving delicious homemade Italian favorites.”Lucatelli’s is found on 205 Elmira Road.
The lasagna we tasted was okay. The noodles that it is made with were home-made egg noodles, good taste and texture. The Bolognese meat mix was mixed with a light amount of cheese. The sauce was not complex and the meat flavors simple as well. This is a lasagna that most Americans would eat without complaint, but I wondered if they were still following their Nonna’s recipe to the “T”. Maybe their chef of the day forgot to taste the sauce when they were cooking it, and forgot to add some herbs. Your children will not complain. If I were you, I would order their homemade, gnocchi lunghi next time.
My husband and I have eaten some delicious meals at Lucatelli’s in the past. Their French onion soup and escargot were both excellent. The lasagna dinner comes with the delicious and well appointed, antipasto salad bar that they are known for ($15.95) If you like martinis, theirs are not to be missed at the reasonable price. The atmosphere is old world and the live piano music in the bar contributes to a special evening out.

Alternative American

Moosewood Restaurant
The Moosewood Restaurant, found in the Dewitt Building off of N. Cayuga, has been providing home-cooked meals to the Ithacans since 1973. “Acclaimed as a driving force in the world of creative vegetarian cooking, the Moosewood collective gathers as many locally grown, organic ingredients as possible mixed with a wide range of internationally produced spices. Meat eaters will find fresh fish and seafood specials on the menu, as well. The results are always interesting, tasty and healthful.    

While Moosewood frequently has a lasagna offering on Friday or Saturday, it is best to call ahead and make sure it is on the special menu that week. The lasagna that they provide for the review was ‘Roasted Veggie’ lasagna.

The lasagna had a good consistency. It had a tall, classic American look to the layers. The noodles were firm yet not stiff in texture. The pasta was layered with a very creamy sauce. The lasagna had a real richness to it, without the cheese being a dominant flavor. For the cheese layers they used ricotta (mixed with egg, mozzarella, and parmesan).There were tasty chunks of tomatoes in the sauce and a noticeable mushroom taste. There was a good balance between the lasagna and the roasted vegetables (green peppers, summer squash, mushrooms, garlic).

Overall the tasting team: my husband, 15 year old son and self, found it to be an excellent alternative. Our son is not a great fan of roasted veggies, but the quantity did not offend him. The sauce they chose for this lasagna was a tomato-basil sauce. The herbs were moderate and the taste bright. We recommend you order a little extra sauce with it- you will want to sop it up with the bread☺    (1 serving: ~$15.00, includes house salad)

CTB/Ithaca Bakery*
    Listed under alternative for some of the vegetarian lasagnas offered.
   
Veggie Lasagnas:

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Cheese & Mushroom Lasagna
Spinach Lasagna
Three-Cheese Broccoli Lasagna
Grilled Pepper Lasagna

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