Tappo Tops All

There are good restaurants, and then there are restaurants that transport, transcend and triumph. Tappo is just such a one. This relative newcomer on the exploding Stamford scene has aced everything from décor to dinner to dessert.

The sleek, urban interior unfolds itself in layered textures. Exposed brick, wrought iron accents, dried bamboo and polished stone are the diner’s visual ticket out of the suburbs and into a truly downtown dining experience. The asymmetrical, rounded ceiling lends another layer of eye candy for the epicurean aesthete to digest. Large black and white photos of hopelessly romantic, unmistakably Italian scenes are splashed against the brick wall like so many projected Fellini films.

But it’s the food that stars in this expertly laid scene. We start our lunch with fried baby artichoke hearts. “These are finger food,” advises Gerardo Mascolo, Tappo’s General Manager in his charmingly accented English. “They’re very delicate. If you use a fork, the leaves will shatter.” We do as we’re told and dig in with our hands. The savory leaves are paper thin, perfectly crisped and literally melt in your mouth. I want to lick my fingers, but refrain because the place is packed with a fairly sophisticated crowd.

Our pasta course follows. It’s a plate of ricotta and spinach gnudi, a creamy, cheesy, wintery-wonderful gnocchi. These little pockets of flavor heaven just burst in your mouth. There’s more food coming, but we can’t stop until the gnudi is gone.

Just when we think the meal can’t get any better, our Tonno alla Siciliana arrives. A Sicilian style tuna steak, this dish is expertly marinated in Coratine extra virgin olive oil and herbs, slightly blackened and seared to perfection. Served with a bright fennel and orange salad, this is the breakout star, carrying the afternoon. “This might be the best tuna I’ve ever had,” my friend tells me. “Really.”

Impossibly, we make room for dessert. Or rather, just when we’re ready to say basta, the homemade vanilla and hazelnut gelatos arrive, followed by a superior pistachio panna cotta drizzled with chocolate vincotto, a velvety syrup made from fermented grapes and cocoa. You haven’t tasted dessert until you’ve indulged in this. The pistachio and chocolate come together with a tempered sweetness that’s simply sublime. Add a bite of the fresh raspberries on your plate and your sublingual salivary glands will be speaking an entirely new succulent language of culinary love.

There’s a wholly continental vibe to this place. On the weekday I indulged in lunch at Tappo, I found others lingering for two hours at least. The food is so delicious, the ambiance so right, you simply don’t want to leave.

“Time kind of just stops when you’re here,” said a waiter when I remarked at the European-style, leisurely lunch crowd.

After the meal was over, I bump into owner Joe Criscuolo at the bar, and couldn’t help but gush over the remarkable meal I’d just had. Smiling, he said, “When you use good ingredients, they just speak for themselves.” Whatever truth there is in such a statement, it is also true that good ingredients converse far more eloquently when prepared by an artist like Massimo Stecchi, Tappo’s Executive Chef who hails from Ceres Culinary Institute of Torino, Italy.

If all this sounds like a little too much hyperbole, all I can say is, try Tappo for yourself. It’s easily one of the best meals you’ll enjoy in Fairfield County. Need more proof? Tappo is so divine, I’m headed back for round two tomorrow night.

Find your next great meal at Tappo, located at 51 Bank Street, in Stamford. Make your reservation now. You can tell me grazie for the introduction later.

Have you tried Tappo yet? What do you think? Leave a comment here, or email me at mmorelli@mainstreetconnect.us.

 

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