Tagliata, an Italian Chophouse with House-Made Pastas and Charcuterie, and the Largest Wine List in Baltimore

[Ericandblueboy]

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Chef Partner Julian Marucci has created an incredible menu highlighted by a dozen selections of handmade pasta. In addition to pasta, Tagliata has a large selection of steaks and chops that are hand-cut by Pat LaFrieda in New York City. 

per Tagliata website.

I was drawn in by the squid ink campanelle - with peekytoe crab, sea urchin cream sauce, chili, basil, & breadcrumbs.  The pasta was wonderful, and so was the crab meat.  The cream sauce had no discernible sea urchin flavor though 😥

The bolognese was also an excellent pasta dish.  I would say their small selection of pastas are equal if not better than Cinghiale.  

The chicken parm was decent.  

[Kanishka]

Date night!  Walked in to Tagliata after an exhausting day of administrative tasks in Forestville, DC, and Pentagon City.  Left the DC area right at the beginning of rush hour, and found a parking spot right next to Tagliata at 7 PM.  Walked in, horribly underdressed and very grumpy, and found ourselves two seats at the bar.  (Shoutout to my parents, who took care of the boys for two nights while we did work things.)

The black label prosciutto di Parma was pricey but worth it, though I wish we had a few more bits of house-made giardiniera.  The tuna crudo was served with these delicious black rice crisps that added savory crunch, with tiny dollops of spicy chili oil to add just a little tickle.  The asparagus bruschetta had just enough speck to give the dish body without overwhelming the asparagus.

Main courses were predictable:  scallops for her, and softshell crabs for me.  The unbilled star in the green and wax bean salad was the generous portion of frisee, whose bitterness worked extremely well with the sweet crab and the sour mustard vinaigrette.  The scallops were cooked just to the right of pink in the middle, M's preferred temperature.  Normally we share but I wasn't give the chance to taste these scallops -- they are her favorite, and she hasn't had them in over 18 months.

Overall:  a fun, hip place, terrific seafood.  The live piano player was a great touch.  Priced at the DC-level, not what I am used to for Baltimore, but the quality was commensurate with the cost.