Merilynn had family in town, so we decided to take them to Piva for dinner tonight.
Piva has been a bit of an enigma to me over the last few years. My first couple of visits were rough — Eggs Benedict on focaccia? Come on, that’s just not cool. The duck pizza? Actually horrid.
But a few visits later, the food started getting better. The Gnocchi Cardinale was fantastic. The Spaghetti Bolognese — excellent.
And then there was tonight. A microcosm of the best and worst Piva has to offer.
Merilynn had the Sable fish, and it was fantastic — the orange beurre blanc on the fish was particularly delicious. The white beans were a nice touch too, something different from your average side, and the potatoes were decent. $48 is a little steep, but the quality was there.
I went with the Roman classic, Cacio e Pepe. What I love about this dish is its simplicity — pecorino, pepper, pasta, and a bit of pasta water. That’s it. But the technical skill required to pull it off is high, and the chef completely missed the mark tonight.
The trick is nailing the temperature, the amount of cheese, and just enough pasta water to build a sauce that coats every noodle perfectly. The plate in front of me looked dry — I’m legally blind and I could still tell. And if it looks dry, it’s going to taste dry.
Which is a shame, because the flavor was there — plenty of peppery kick, and the pecorino was rich and salty.
Piva, we love and hate you.
7/10