G’Vanni’s II

A little Italian in South Portland

By Joan Lang

G’Vanni’s Piccolo Pomodoro, 158 Benjamin W. Pickett St., South Portland, 767-4219,
Mon.-Sun.: Breakfast, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 4; Dinner, 4 to 9 p.m., Full bar, All major credit cards

SURPRISE: just the sort of cute, little-known place that constitutes a find.

For food writers, there’s nothing like a find. “Hey, pssst!” people ask me. “What’s new? Where should I eat?” Now I can answer: G’Vanni’s Piccolo Pomodoro. It’s just the sort of good, cute, little-known place that constitutes a find.

Piccolo Pomodoro (Italian for “little tomato”) opened in late November, in a funky location hard by Spring Point Marina and SMTC in South Portland. Actually, so funky my heart sunk when we first pulled up to it — the building used to house a nondescript little breakfast place, and it still doesn’t look like much from outside. You have to walk all the way around in back, past the kitchen window and parked cars, to get to the entrance deck, and through a sort of airlock back hall that keeps the dining room from being blasted with cold air every time the door opens.

But that makes the cozy, bright little dining room all the more charming a surprise. You might call the décor shoestring chic, proof that a little paint and an eye for detail can be just as effective as a big-time decorating budget. The walls are done up in cheerful tones of tomato red and gray, which pick up the colors of the flecked Naugahyde banquettes and seat cushions, looking for all the world like they came right off a vintage ’52 Chevy. The windows are framed in ornate gold picture frames, and the wall sconces are faux leopard-skin. One glance tells you someone has a sense of humor — even that red paint is a color called Funny Valentine.

That would be Jeff Karll, who owns Piccolo Pomodoro and a number of other restaurants in Portland, Kennebunk, and Boston, including G’vanni’s on Wharf Street in the Old Port. This time, he partnered up with longtime Wharf Street chef John Decristofaro to create a place that calls to mind a little trattoria in the North End of Boston.

That Piccolo succeeds is largely a testament to Decristofaro’s cooking skills. Everything on the small, pasta-intensive menu is made to order, keeping the tall, handsome chef busy at the row of stove burners visible just behind the half-wall of the dining room. The owners pride themselves on using the best possible ingredients: imported pasta and Italian tomatoes, fine extra-virgin olive oil, natural baby veal.

That care shows, even in something as simple as a tossed green salad, pristinely fresh in a bright-tasting, well-balanced Chianti vinaigrette. Bread is hot from the oven, a nice basket of focaccia, ciabatta, and crisp breadsticks. The server brings a carafe of ice water to leave on the table, along with a real peppermill.

Appetizers here are perfect for sharing, perhaps the P.E.I. Mussels with chorizo in a tasty, subtly spicy tomato broth (you’ll want extra bread here) or the “C&C,” perfectly fried clams and calamari served in a brown paper bag — an old clam-shack trick for blotting off the extra oil when the fish comes out of the fryer.

Penne Amatriciana, in a classic sauce of onions, tomatoes, and plenty of good pancetta, is textbook: the quill-shaped pasta properly al dente (“to the tooth” — it’s cooked order), the sauce deliciously complex yet comforting. You couldn’t ask for a better dish.

Veal Parmigiano is another winner — it’s hard to cook these old workhorse Italian favorites with the finesse and skill that made them so popular to begin with — and the Veal Marsala (offered at lunch) is wonderful, the veal tender yet toothsome, showered with fresh sautéed mushrooms and a rich sauce just ever-so-slightly sweet from the Marsala wine.

Some of the less traditional dishes are also well handled, including Chicken & Brocollini, a huge plate of penne topped with baby broccoli and chunks of chicken in a garlicky white wine sauce. In fact, I probably wouldn’t hesitate to order any of the pasta dishes, even though the menu runs all the way up to prime tenderloin of beef with Chianti glaze and a rack of lamb crusted with Asiago cheese.

The wine list is also surprising, with a number of interesting Italian choices, including Batasiolo Dolcetta and a Martin Weyrich Nebiolo. You could even spring for a three-liter bottle of Banfi Chianti in a classic straw bottle — if you had an extra C-note hanging around in your pocket. Speaking of which, there probably aren’t enough under-$25 bottles on the menu.

Desserts are “store-boughten” but high-quality: sorbetto and gelato in interesting flavors, rich chocolate torte, a wonderful tiramisu. That and an espresso will get you home safely.

Piccolo Pomodoro is also a great place for breakfast, believe it or not, with a fun selection of French-style omelettes (who could argue with prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, and Vidalia onions) and elaborate Belgian waffles, plus specialty cocktails like Mimosas and “Zambucca & coffee.” This summer, expect an expanded, tent-covered deck with seating, and more fresh seafood. Buon appetito.

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