SPQR
By Sarah Glicken, Heath Ceramics
Growing up in a Jewish family totally obsessed with food I was used to the question “how was the food and what did they serve?” before “how was the wedding?” As resident foodie here at Heath, my passion for all things epicurean and culinary continues. So here goes, with my first official food blog for heath.....
Rome is a city that gets under your skin. After living there I fell madly in love with all things Roman. I became a fervent supporter of the city, it’s art, and most importantly the food. So when I heard about the new project from the A16 folks, Nate Appleman (chef/owner), Shelley Lindgren (wine director/owner), and newcomer co-chef Daniel Holzman (of Campton Place), I was very excited. SPQR, a Roman Osteria, opened on Fillmore Street in the old Chez Nous space a few weeks ago. SPQR is the famous Roman acronym that stands for S(enatus) P(opulus) Q(ue) R(omanus) or “senate and the people of Rome”. It was plastered on every monument, statue, and building during the Roman Empire. Although many Romans have changed the meaning today to “sono pazzi questi Romani” or “these Romans are crazy”, it remains the motto of the city of Rome and appears on the city’s coat of arms, public buildings, and manhole covers.
But back to the restaurant. I was fortunate enough to be invited to the friends/family dinner the night before its official opening, so I got to try a bit of everything. The menu is split into hot and cold antipasti, as well as housemade pasta “fatta in casa” and secondi. Several dishes brought me back to my days along the Tiber River. The suppli (fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella cheese) were light, flavorful, and not overly greasy. Yum. Beef shortribs alla vaccinara were tender and delicious. A simple Roman stew, Coda alla vaccinara is traditionally prepared with oxtail. It was customary to pay a vaccinara (cattle butcher) with the tail, organs, and hide of a cow. The butchers then turned the tail into a delicacy. Glad I wasn’t a butcher in those days. Come to think of it - glad I’m not a butcher now, either. Other menu standouts include the beans with pork sofrito and the spaghetti cacio e peppe, the simplest dish of pasta tossed with Pecorino cheese and fresh pepper. The desserts were also interesting - an almond milk pannacotta with granita on top and the “panino” - a sweet play on a grilled cheese sandwich with condensed milk, pears, shaved chocolate and sprinkled with fleur de sel. Anyone who thinks that the simple menu is boring needs a lesson on the meaning of Roman cuisine – simple, rustic, minimal quality ingredients for maximum flavor.
What better way to complement straightforward food, than to pair it with lesser-known, hard-to-pronounce-for-the-lay-person Italian wine varietals. I bet most of us Californians don’t regularly have Pigato, Malvasia, Aglianico or Garganega, nor know what they are, for that matter. The space is cozy and the layout is much improved over the Chez Nous space. There are two long bars, one of them overlooking the open kitchen, just like at A16. Not to toot our own horn, but did I mention how fantastic the food looks on the all-Heath dinnerware it’s served on? Open for lunch, dinner until 11, and brunch on Sundays. www.spqrsf.com
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