PIATTINO (small plate) PORTLAND

 

The Piattino menu says, * you don’t ever age while seated for a meal *

 

I’ll take it another step: ‘you become as ageless as Roman gods while seated for a meal inside Piattino.’

 

Is invoking Roman gods in an Italian restaurant sacrilege? Not a bit when it comes to a bite of the delicacies offered, beginning with the olive tray that includes garlic spread aged eight years in balsamic vinegar.

 

 

Like books and their covers, you never know what’s inside until you open it. From the sign in the top image, it would be easy to walk down NW Everett, pass by, and keep going.

 

That would be the first mistake.

 

Open the corner door to Piattino and brace yourself for the ageless Roman god feeling as you walk past the wood fired oven behind the bar. Would that god be Vulcan, god of fire?

 

A better choice, the only choice, is Edesia, Roman Goddess of Food.

 

Edesia is the Roman Goddess of Food Who presides over banquets. With Bibesia, the Goddess of Drink, She ensured that the feast went well and the food was excellent. Her name comes from the Latin verb edes, “to eat” or “to consume”, and both She and Bibesia were given offerings during the meal to ensure their presence and blessings. She is the numen, or divine spirit, of feasting, which was apparently considered a magical and important act by the Romans deserving of its own Goddess. The verb edes can also mean “to spend money on food”, connecting Edesia with luxury as well as with city life, in which most food was bought, rather than like in the country where the people grew much of their own food.

 

The farmer who grew the Organic Black kale with golden raisins knew the secret of the gods.

 

The House Meatballs and polenta came out hot in cast iron, the ideal match to a cool IPA. Pan of the gods and nectar of the gods combined for an ageless moment.

 

Wood Fired mussels filled a plate with a dark shell ring around an orange pasta center, creating the sort of Renaissance image the masters would have put in their feast paintings.

 

Portland is famous for food, and famous for yelp restaurant reviews. 

 

Reading a couple of them seems to call for a reminder: This is not Olive Garden.

 

Piattino reaches the same place Robert DeNiro searched for when he prepared for his starring role in the 1980 movie Raging Bull. Instead of wearing a fat suit, legend says DeNiro toured Italy on a food binge to gain the sixty pounds he needed to play the role.

 

Sixty pounds meant lots of food, and what better food than Italian if gaining weight is the goal? I’ve dreamed of the same trip, but not anymore.

 

If your goals are more modest than Robert DeNiro’s, then Piattino is the place. Instead of Italy, come to Portland’s Pearl. If you’re goals are similar, talk to the cook and work something out. Otherwise, plan on a dinner like you’ve never had before.

 

And you won’t age a second once you walk inside.