Alici, a ‘Piccolo’ Different Italian
A new dining addition, just off 10th Street, features Italian cuisine inspired by the Amalfli Coast featuring a bounty of seafood.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
Get ready for an intensely luscious lemon experience at Alici (Italian for “anchovies”) — a new addition to Atlanta’s foodscape, located in the Midtown Promenade. With its modernized exterior renovation, amidst Trader Joe’s and the Landmark Theatre, Alici specializes in seafood and pasta inspired by the Amalfi Coast.
On a recent Sunday evening, Alici was jammed with full tables and a small wait list. The interior has a snazzy bar humming with the sounds of Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke and Louis Armstrong, whose standard tunes belied the hip crowd. Then, there’s the clanging of cocktail shakers under an open, industrial-piped ceiling with a calmer, stonewalled main dining room.
At the entrance, the open busy kitchen looked to be a fine-honed machine, pumping out perfectly organized and arranged dishes. Courses arrive at different times, which seems to be de rigueur these days. Part of the fun is the authenticity of this type of Italian cuisine outside the heavier Southern/Sicilian, “ red sauce lasagna” menu.
The owner is Chef Pat Pascarella, who opened the White Bull in 2018, followed by Grana and Bastone.
There is a lot to learn about the menu. The server said the menus are changed and reprinted each day with the same basic categories. We started with a Rosso (red) glass of Monica 2020 ($14) Cardedu Praja from Sardinia-bramble, pipe tobacco, gentle tannin and oddly “barnyard”…is that even a flavor? Yes!
The crudo category is the Italian (and Spanish) word for “raw,” referring to a dish of uncooked fish or meat, dressed with oil, citrus juice, a la vinaigrette. It implies no specific size or shape, so it’s really a blanket term. Carpaccio and tartar are types of crudo, but not sashimi. We started with striped bass crudo ($17) with blood oranges, pepitas and ginger oil. Artistic bite-sized squares, light and flavorful.
Next, we went for two different soccas, a cross between rustic flatbread and a pancake made from chickpeas, prepared as a batter poured into a pan and baked. Tuna tartar ($20) stracciatella (literally “little rags”), pistachios, sesame seeds and lemon, delivered the flavor. Then wild mushrooms ($17) in brown butter and two types of cheese, the latter of which was randomly distributed as little squares. The variety of mushrooms was “meaty” and right on, not sure about ordering two items-pancake bases, which we found ourselves paring away.
A surprising attention stealer in the contorni category was the insalata mista ($6), a handsome, sharable cone of purply frisée, shredded with mixed nuts, herbs, and a kicking citrus vinaigrette. Followed by crispy cauliflower ($9), sautéed with arugula, pesto, pine nuts, and lemon was tasty enough, but more limp versus crispy. Next, we sampled an anti pasti farro salad ($14), an ancient grain with fresh strawberries, charred lemon vinaigrette, herbs and jalapeno. Certainly sharable, if not on the “chewy” side.
Five fish (secondi) selections were on the menu; and since it was a busy Sunday, only two choices remained. We went with the mahi mahi ($30) and studied the Pick Your Sauce choices: salsa verde, acqua pazza, vinaigrette al limone, cucumber olive. Going with the acqua pazza (Italian-style broth for poaching a white fish) was a sparkling presentation of tomatoes and olives. The whole fish for two ($50) was a good option for a return visit.
The dessert menu led with authentic stars: layers of lemon cheesecake with mousse, lemon olive oil cake, ricotta almond torta with frangipane and ricotta in a pound cake, and brioche con gelato. On the light side, we went with the two scoops of lemon sorbet $6 which was very intense, somewhere between tart and a satisfying sour.
Alici, even without one anchovy on that night’s menu, has grabbed attention in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood. It is further proof that, “If you build it, they will come,” with Atlanta’s eagerness to try new cuisines and willingness to pay rather dearly for it.
Alici is open for lunch on weekdays, and dinner, seven days a week. Free parking. Also, a beautiful expansive patio awaits for spring nights. 931 Monroe Dr. (404) 876-1000.
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