Trattoria # 10

Elisa Kronish

Citysearch

The Scene
A cheerful trompe l'oeil mural fills the walls around an open stairway that leads down into the restaurant. Low ceilings, wood furnishings, textured cream walls and red-speckled tile floor create a warm, inviting atmosphere. Understated arches divide the large dining room into intimate spaces, and overall dim lighting is cleverly complemented by table spotlights.

The Food
The menu is divided the Italian way, with antipasti followed by pasta, then a course of meat and fish entrees. Start with tomato basil soup, tuna carpaccio, polenta or the simply delicious field greens sweetened with candied walnuts. Pasta dishes are filling on their own and include risotto with sauteed chicken, farfalle with duck confit, orrecchiette with homemade Italian sausage, and several ravioli dishes--try the butternut squash, farm-fresh and subtly sweet. Linguine is full of roasted eggplant and plum tomatoes, with a rich and flavorful finish of basil, capers and chunks of smoked mozzarella.