Ricetta's II

Taking a good pie to Falmouth

by Joan Lang

Attention, Ricetta's fans: the new restaurant in Falmouth is now open. And the crowds rejoice! Small wonder. Ricetta's in Falmouth is wonderful, a bustling, high-style eatery that's a lot more sophisticated than the original in South Portland -- which has always struck me as comfortable enough, but a bit dowdy.

No utilitarian, strip-mall restaurant, this. Owners Ron Stephan and Peter Kernan worked closely with the designers of the upscale new Shops at Falmouth Village to get exactly what they wanted in their new restaurant. There's loads of parking (huzzah!), a comfortable waiting area, a lively bar, and a big, rustic-looking dining room floating under soaring ceilings, with exposed brick walls and beautiful exposed wooden trusses. From any seat in the house, you can see the piece de resistance, a dramatic open kitchen complete with a trio of wood-burning pizza ovens and an exhibition grill -- like the South Portland set-up, but to the nth degree, and brand-spanking new to boot.

Unfortunately, the architecture makes for acoustics that can be downright cacophonous. Despite the soft carpets underfoot, all those high ceilings and wood and brick surfaces bounce sound back like the inside of a drum. Put a few shrieking kids and inattentive parents nearby, and the din is incredible. We found ourselves cranking up the decibel level of our conversation -- safe in the knowledge that no one could hear us anyway. If you do have kids, this is the place, but if you go later, after things quiet down, the experience is considerably more relaxing.

Most any night at prime-time, Ricetta's rocks. When we visited one weekday evening, there was already a half-hour wait, easy enough to tough out at the welcoming bar. The cheerful, accommodating staff is inordinately friendly and prompt, quite obviously excited to be working in this fun new place. Our waitress was always right there when we needed her, but she never tried to rush us.

Open only a month, the kitchen is not yet fully staffed, and the owners have wisely put their immediate attention into table service and the reputation-making pizzas. Within a month, promises Stephan, the wood-burning grill and rotisserie will be fired up, and there will be steaks, seafood, chicken, and rotisseried meats like pork loin -- a kind of Tuscan grill sub-menu that will really set the new place apart. "We'll be starting out with specials, to find out what the clientele wants and what works best," says Stephan.

Until then, you must content yourself with the same selection they have in South Portland, although that menu has been revamped considerably in the last year or so, with new appetizers and pastas in addition to those fabulous pies.

Our Friday-night pizza foursome always had a more-or-less standing order at the old Ricetta's: spinach salad; Caesar; large Ricetta (fresh tomato, prosciutto, scallions, ricotta, and mozz); large Bolto (roasted chicken, pesto, broccoli, and fontina). So we took the opportunity with this review to sample some new things.

The appetizers we tried were all very fun. A crock of gooey hot artichoke dip, loaded with garlic and cheese, with a slew of tasty sundried tomato focaccia for spreading. Mussels, oven-baked in a skillet with garlic and wine, fresh-tasting and sizzling hot. A big plate of antipasto (salami, two kinds of cheese, marinated mushrooms, and several salads) for picking. There's a brief interlude for salad before the entrees, just in case you didn't order enough.

Calzones are made-to-order, so you can get any combination you want -- a nice option for the person who might otherwise order pizza. I was disappointed in two of the pastas, rigatoni in a boring Bolognese-style meat sauce, and lasagna drowning in sauce and cheese -- but with an Italian mother-in-law who's one of the best cooks in Brooklyn, I'm a tough customer. Better, I think, to try something like the Rigatoni Donatello, fat tubes of pasta tossed in a tasty sauce of sauteed red onions, mushrooms, prosciutto, and peas in a rich cream sauce.

Yes, there's dessert, including a decent tiramisu and cheesecakes of different strips, though I couldn't get up the nerve to try the apple pizza. It's too hard to pass up homemade cannoli shells filled with plain or chocolate-chip ricotta cheese, slightly grainy but satisfyingly soft and crunchy and sweet. And so we go, out into the night, five pounds heavier and smiling.

Joan Lang can be reached at joanmlang@aol.com.