A friend and I checked out Potenza last night and had a great experience. We showed up at around 8:45 and both the bar and dining room were more than half full, which I thought was impressive considering its in a neighborhood that gets pretty dead once the happy hour crowd goes home. We each started with glass of a "Super Tuscan" sangiovese-merlot blend and split the Insalate Rucola e Portobello (arugula and portobello salad) and the Pizza del Giorno, which was prosciutto di parma and asparagus last night. The salad was simple but flavorful with a few generous shavings of cheese and the pizza was an oblong shape definitely enough for two people. The crust was very light and thin with a good char and the toppings were excellent, though a little sparse for my taste. We split the cannoli dessert, which was two medium-sized cannolis with cinnamon-flavored shells and ricotta-lemon (i think) and chocolate chip filling. I think the cannoli cream was a little lighter than what you'll get at someplace like Vaccaro's or a real NY Italian bakery... but it was goood. My friend is an Italian coffee snob so we both got decaf with dessert to try it out and were very happy. The best part is that all of that together -- two glasses of wine, salad, pizza, dessert, two coffees -- was under $50! Although the prices were fairly reasonable, the service, decor, and general vibe was on par with what you'd expect at a pricier place. Oh and the bread was fantastic... but that's no surprise.
We sat at a table up against the glass partition between the dining room and the bakery/takeout and I spent a good chunk of my meal ogling the leg of prosciutto and wheels of cheese stacked up outside the kitchen.
I feel like its a pretty big gamble to open a place like that in a neighborhood that is largely empty on nights and weekends, but Old Ebbitt certainly does fine for itself...
Anyway, I urge anyone who lives or works downtown to check out Potenza. I'm excited to go back!
