Scossa Restaurant & Lounge

8 N. Washington St.
Easton, Md. 410-822-2202
http://www.scossarestaurant.com

Tariff: Lunch: appetizers/
salads, $7.50-$16; entrees, $14.50-$19.50; Dinner:
entrees, $14.50-$27.50

Jane’s Rating: 8 out of 10
John’s Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Jane: Nice cozy table for two, smack dab in the middle of the room. I just love being the center of attention. Crisp white linens, white plates… Hey, did you happen to notice that our waitress is a dead ringer for Cate Blanchett, minus the Oscar? Where’s the bread?

John: Here it is. Great, toasted ciabatta. And a few breadsticks, too—your favorite. I notice they’re going with a little pat of butter instead of olive oil. How old school. It’s certainly not an old school Italian restaurant, though. It definitely seems “designed.” Big glowing candles everywhere, lots of browns and beiges. Restoration Hardware goes to Rome, don’t you think?

Jane: Sort of Easton meets the East Side. Did you notice that the barstools are too short for the bar, which feels like it’s about two inches higher than it should be? I felt like a Muppet sitting there waiting for you to come back from the little boys’ room. I ordered a phone book from the bartender. But the color palette is very pleasant. So is the fact that Cate brought the wine menu first and held off bringing the food menu until we’d had a chance to take in a few sips. Enforced relaxation. Nice touch. How’s your wine, by the way?


John: The barstools are too short? Picky, picky. Can’t say I’m crazy about the wine, though. It’s a La Segreta, mix of Nero d’Avola grapes and Merlot, but it tastes a little flat and boring—like your Cousin Eddie. I wonder if Cate would mind fetching me a pure Cab instead. So what are you thinking about ordering?

Jane: Too bad for you. My champagne is [gulp]—was—cooold, bubbly, and plenty tasty. Let’s see. I think I’ll have the fish soup and calamari to start and then go for the pasta puttanesca. I used to make it all the time back in the salad days when I had no clue that pasta was a curse to your thighs.

John: Oh, not your thighs, dear. Let’s see… I think the scallop and shiitake mushroom salad sounds like a delicious way to start. And for my entree, the sea bass with lemon and caper sauce is tempting as well. But the osso bucco special with risotto Milanese sounds like a treat, too. This new
wine is much better. 

Jane: Yum, here comes the soup. The hunks of sea bass are flavorful enough, but at $10.50 a bowl you’d think they could spare more than five pieces. And the broth is a little too bland for my taste.

John: I gotta say there is an interesting crowd in here. I see a local real estate tycoon, several members of Easton’s Old Guard, even a few
couples with kids in tow. I hear the bar and back lounge get pretty lively on weekend nights with twenty and thirtysomethings. Ah, our appetizers have arrived.

Jane: Wow...just look at my bowl of calamari. Yum city! It’s so delicately tender and crunchy. Not rubbery or greasy in the least bit. And the tartar sauce is very mild. Definitely nothing like the recipe they use to craft the crab cake topper. This calamari takes the prize for the best I’ve ever had. I like the ones that look like little fried spiders the best. Hey, get your fork out of my bowl. How’s the salad?

John: Another winner. The warm shiitake mushrooms go wonderfully with the sea scallops and what tastes like a balsamic reduction sauce. Really good.

Jane: Looks like you’ve got a little reduction on your tie...I can hardly wait for the main course. Did you take a look at the back bar room? It’s cozy enough to be the waiting area in a spa, where you lie around in a big robe waiting for your masseuse to come get you. I’m always glad that the other women look just as fat in their robes as I do. Do you know if real Italians run this place?

John: I hear the chef [Giancarlo Tondin] is from Italy and that he started his career at Harry’s Bar in Venice, before opening the Cipriani restaurants in New York. Certainly an impressive pedigree for an Italian chef. I wonder how he ended up in Easton.

Jane: Wow. Homemade pasta, cooked to al dente perfection. What a treat. The puttanesca sauce is a bit mild, though. Seems like the power of the olives and capers take a back seat to the tomato base. And do I detect a touch of white wine? Definitely not at all like the potent recipe I use from the Silver Palate cookbook. But it’s a practical-sized portion, which I appreciate. How’s the ’bucco? 

John: Excellent. Flavorful, succulent. Falls right off the bone. The risotto has the color of Kraft mac ’n’ cheese, but it’s delicious. Here, try some.

Jane: Mmm. Perfectly done—all of it. But enjoy it while you can, because I don’t foresee it becoming a regular item on our dinner menu at home. Did you leave room for some dessert and a glass of port?

John: Dessert? Of course. I notice they offer six desserts, and seven different kinds of grappa. Interesting… The vanilla meringue sounds good but so does the crepes alla crema. Actually, I think I’ll go with the old Italian restaurant standby, tiramisu. I really think you should try the crepes, though.

Jane: Crepes it is. Haven’t had them in ages. I used to order them all the time when we used to go to Cafe Normandie in Annapolis. Remember? They were as big as pecan log rolls, fat with real whipped cream and fresh strawberries and dusted with powdered sugar. This would be a great place to try again in the summer. There’s a patio out those French doors, just like a European café. Did you see those cute little wall-mounted fountains out there?

John: Don’t even talk about getting a pair for the house. The guy in the red suspenders behind me is eating tiramisu. I hope it’s not mine.
Jane: This dessert is incredible. It’s filled with pastry cream and flamed in orange Cointreau. Goes great with the scoop of vanilla ice cream. And no, you may not have a bite. How’s the tiramisu, which means “pick me up” in Italian, if you didn’t know that.

John: Jane, you continue to amaze me with your encyclopedic knowledge of dessert translations. But I still don’t believe you that clafouti means “Gimme another one.” I have to say, the tiramisu looks pretty, but it doesn’t have much flavor. Not even a hint of coffee—or coffee liqueur, for that matter. The thin layer of cocoa on top is the only flavor coming through for me. Here, what do you think?

Jane: Yikes. Rather bland, indeed, and not worth the calories. And very surprising. It’s sort of like a Greek restaurant getting their baklava wrong, a Mexican restaurant getting their flan wrong, an Indian restaurant …

John: Right, I get your point, my little samosa. So, how would you rate our dinner as a whole?

Jane: All in all, I’d give them an eight out of ten. A few of the flavors weren’t as powerful as I hoped. But the atmosphere is lovely, and I feel pretty glamorous sitting here. I can’t wait to come back after they’ve had a few more months under their belt and dine al fresco on the patio. Wonder if they’ve considered how to handle the notoriously voracious Eastern Shore mosquitoes that will be dining on their patrons…

John: I think the place holds a lot of promise. It’s already a hot spot on weekend nights, and judging by the crowd here on a Thursday, it looks like Easton is hungry for a place like this. I thought our waitress was phenomenal, and the service in general was about as close to perfect as we could expect—not an easy task for a new restaurant. I would dump the fish soup from the menu entirely and kick up the flavors on some of the other dishes, but all in all, I think Scossa scores. I’d give it an eight and a half out of ten. Just one more question: Will you be picking up the check?