Lucca Both Ways

Body-Popping: Trattoria Lucca's whole-body calamari, served with lemon juice, alongside tender greens.

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Trattoria Lucca embodies the contradictions of Passyunk Avenue.

by Elisa Ludwig

If you squint your eyes at the piazza mural in Trattoria Lucca’s dining room, you might imagine horses bounding around the corners, Il Palio style, while you sip a morning cappuccino. But then you remember that this is supposed to be Lucca, not Siena. It’s evening, and if you turn back to look at the entranceway, the Sinatra glossies will remind you that you have never left Passyunk Avenue, where the only races are between the Suburbans, Hummers and Expeditions vying for a parking spot.

Sure, we may drink cappuccino all day long and display the Rat Pack as proudly as the Tuscans do their wild boar taxidermy, but Philadelphians do know a thing or two about Italian eating, whether it's the authentic article or our own newfangled variations. (Cheesesteak pizza, anyone?) And sometimes we meet the traditional and the modern in the middle, as is the case at Trattoria Lucca. The latest addition to South Philly's constantly expanding phalanx of Italian cookeries, this recently opened BYO has all the makings of a new classic.

The clean, cheery decor fills two seating areas -- the main one featuring the piazza mural and a street-side view, the other slightly more private and intimate. The service is professional and friendly. You're more likely to hear "ciao" here than "yo." Tables are decked out with fresh flowers and bottles of fragrant olive oil specked with red pepper and rosemary. The menu is concise, with no-nonsense descriptions. While it offers the typical neighborhood fare -- fried mozzarella, fettuccine Bolognese plus a dizzyingly long list of specials -- Lucca is upping the ante with a lighter palate of flavors, and a refreshing nod to Northern Italy.

First courses are right on the mark and generously apportioned. The chef's antipasto plate, an overflowing cornucopia of sharp, pungent flavors, comes with paper-thin slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini marinated in balsamic vinegar, plus mild, milky balls of mozzarella and buttery soft folds of prosciutto di Parma. The highlight, though, is the wedge of fluffy frittata with red peppers and onions, a surprise but welcome inclusion. The whole-body calamari are even better, grilled and served on a bed of lightly seasoned greens. The squid is impossibly tender, the slight char taste enlivened with lemon juice. These are simple, perfect pleasures.

On the pasta front, Lucca has the usual white clam sauce and lobster ravioli, but it is better to go straight for the gnocchi. Where so many places serve heavy, sodden lumps of potato, this homemade version is exceptional. Cylindrically shaped, the dumplings are substantial but delicate and not at all gummy. Their sweetish, light tomato sauce spiked with basil is more orange in color than the canned-tomato deep red of so many run-of-the-mill marinaras.

The same sauce appeared again on the veal cutlet, prepared in the "classic" style, i.e. parmigiana. Here it seemed a bit too sweet, overwhelming the more subtle flavors of the meat and cheese. Much better was the chicken breast stuffed with mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes -- a straightforward but well-executed dish, the bold zing of tomatoes taking the whole enterprise to another level. Both the entrees came with garlicky sauteed broccoli raab, which was disappointingly soggy. Not so for the seasoned fried potato wedges, which were crisp and delicious.

Time for that cappuccino. The dessert menu is heavy on the frozen Bindi sweets -- gelato, sorbet and the like -- and frankly, it would be nice to see more local restaurants kicking the prepackaged dessert habit as there are so many wonderful bakeries and pastry chefs right here in town. Lucca might want to take advantage of these resources, as its fresh-made desserts are good but not spectacular. The tiramisu missed the ideal balance of liqueur and sweetness, and ended up bland. The cannoli, home-stuffed with ricotta and chocolate chips, is much more convincing, and very Philly.

Hopefully, Lucca's culinary charms will attract more people to Passyunk Avenue, which is curiously quiet at night. The main retail artery of the neighborhood seems to be perpetually in transition, as if it is deciding just how to retain its old-school character while moving forward into a slicker, trendier future. It makes sense, then, that Lucca is right here, guarding the local Italian-American traditions while gently asserting its own bit of innovation.

TRATTORIA LUCCA

1915 E. Passyunk Ave. 215-336-1900 Tue.-Thu., 4:30-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 4:30-11 p.m.; Sun., 3:30-9:30 p.m. Appetizers, $4.95-$8.25; entrees, $10-$17.50 BYOB. Wheelchair accessible. Smoking is not permitted. Reservations accepted. All major credit cards accepted.

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