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Tucked into the corner of a modest strip mall on Route 7 in Norwalk I enjoyed one of the most memorable meals of the past few months. After just one visit, Amerigo is poised to take its place near the top of my list of favorite Italian dining spots in Norwalk. The vaguely bohemian ambience magically transports you from strip mall starkness to cozy dining salon. Bread is baked in house and served hot. The menu is extensive with multiple, standard Italian selections available in the requisite protein categories and theres a separate menu devoted entirely to pizza. We never got to either. We were riveted by the list of specials and dove headlong into its offerings.
Show me the Porcini! Its hard to resist dishes made with these lovely, buttery fungi, and the menu boasts several dishes that claim to include them, but Im skeptical. All too often, promised wild mushrooms never show up on the plate. Not so with Amerigos wild mushroom purses, house-made pasta satchels filled with mixed wild mushrooms blended with just enough mascarpone cheese to hold the mixture together. The little morsels are bathed lightly in a savory, brown Porcini sauce that features prominent pieces of the coveted Porcini as well.
For a truly celestial experience, I recommend the gnocchi. The smooth, creamy, teaspoon-sized potato dumplings are among the best Ive had in years. They come lavished in a golden, velvety parmesan sauce dotted with tiny minced bits of eggplant and fresh tomato. Its worth noting that after a single bite of each of these two pasta selections, we eschewed any grated parmesan or ground pepper and devoured the two dishes as served. They didnt need a thing.
Frutta di Mare Rosso, a mix of ultra-fresh, lovingly prepared seafood in a red clam sauce over linguine is another revelation. The bountiful bowl arrived mounded with sizeable Gulf shrimp and tender littleneck clams and calamari. Rather than drowning the dish in basic house marinara, the briny clam sauce was elegantly flavored with just enough tomato to coat the perfectly al dente linguine and let the seafood shine.
As if any of these dishes could be topped, another show-stopper was the yellowfin tuna, seven half-inch thick slices of the freshest fish, sesame-crusted, seared rare, and arranged like a beautiful red xylophone on the plate. Perched atop exquisitely sautéed leeks, drizzled with an Asian Porcini sauce (there they are again!), and topped with more of the delicate mushrooms and their cremini cousins, the dish is served with a twirl of thick, slippery udon noodles and a neat pyramid of forbidden black rice for a drier counterpoint. Prized for its iron content, this mid-sized dark purple grain, thought to have once been eaten exclusively by Chinese Emperors, proffers a deep, nutty flavor. Thin spears of asparagus provided crunch and fresh green lightness. The dish is nothing short of a symphonic masterpiece.
While prices here aren't over the top, this is not your standard strip mall pizza parlor. Still, you can save a bundle at Amerigo by bringing your own bottle of wine, something the owners welcome. Amerigo Pizza, 465 Main Avenue, Norwalk; phone: 840-1444.
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