Nothing is quite the same but life has been resuming bit by bit in new and creative ways. Friends are beginning to arrive from up North and as the weather turns colder, more will happily return. As COVID-19 continues to demand social distancing, masks and hand washing we are uniquely positioned to offer outside dining, golf, tennis, pickleball, balmy weather, and carefully curated indoor dining and fitness. Special kudos go to our Club and Home Owner Association management for keeping BallenIsles safe and open.

Hooray... this month we feature a new restaurant review from our illustrious critic, Vicki Slotnick. Living in Florida has many blessings not least of all is outside dining year-round. And nice to read more about a newish spot just around the corner.

 

Stay safe. We can do this!

Laura & Tana

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Scuci Trattoria by Vicki Slotnick

You’ll will need to hold onto your hats people, because I think dining at Scusi Trattoria might just blow your mind! Eddy and I ate there a few times this past January and February not long after they opened, and then Covid-19 hit the proverbial fan. Fast forward eight months, we returned last evening and were blown away by our entire experience. The evening’s weather was just about perfect for outdoor dining…not hot and not chilly with a light breeze and a cloudless sky. After being greeted by a cheerful employee who checked our forehead temperatures, we were directed to our choice of large umbrella covered 4-tops outside on the patio. The table was set with sanitized flatware nestled in large cloth napkins [the size of dish towels] and wrapped and sealed in cellophane[!]. Disposable, one use, menus arrived right away, and we were off and running. There was a special 3 course dinner being offered for the month of October, titled Octoberfeast, and we chose to order that for Eddy, then I would choose something from the antipasti, salumi and formaggi, the insalata, primi pasta, or the pizza offerings. The 3-course special menu for $40.00 was replete with a few selections for each of the 3 courses. They were not any smaller than they would have been had they been ordered a la carte. I requested a salad from the regular menu with which I had fallen in love last winter before Covid…green and yellow zucchini raw, julienne, tossed with toasted and sliced marcona almonds, pecorino romano cheese, fresh mint and basil, and a lovely light lemony vinaigrette. Put that all together and it spells ‘awesome’. It was heaven enough for me since I could easily live on vegetables. Eddy’s first course was Scusi’s version of melon and prosciutto…the prosciutto was “di Parma” smooth and slightly salty, the melon was cantaloupe shaved thinly like the ham, and hazelnuts. Those 3 elements were dressed in a drizzle of the perfect balance of sweet and acidic: honey, orange marmalade, maybe lemon juice, maybe a bit of slightly sweet white balsamic vinegar. Whatever was there, it just tied each whole mouthful together so perfectly, just like the aforementioned zucchini salad. That selection from the antipasti section was another winner and I just stole it from Eddy! His entrée which the restaurant calls Secondi, was another favorite from last winter: wood oven baked branzino al limone with spinach and mushrooms. It was pan roasted in the hot wood fired oven, and it was easily the best branzino we have had ANYWHERE…that is… EVER! A bit of skin was crisped on top and the flesh was perfectly moist and tender. Spinach and mushrooms spill out from between the top filet and the bottom filet. A lovely lemony brothy sauce covers the bottom of the pan, wonderful for dunking the fresh foccacio. At this point, I mustn’t forget to say this: everything we ate seemed to possess a certain combination of quite simple elements, but resulting in tastes and textures, the sum of which you can’t really put into words, but that allow the finished product to reach the sublime level. Oh, let’s discuss the 3rd course of the special offer for October, the dessert. Choices included Scusi’s own gelatos and Eddy selected the pistachio-orange marmalade version…so smooth and intense and generously dotted with chopped pistachios. I was near tears over the fact that he didn’t order the chocolate gianduja gelato, and the general manager, hearing of my sadness, surprised me with a dish of my own chocolate dish of ecstasy! Speaking of the very attentive general manager, Mark, you might want to check out the restaurant’s website and explore their story and menus. Chef-owner Laurent Tourondel comes with very extensive background in Europe, Great Britain, the United States, and more. The wait staff all are attentive, enthusiastic, very helpful, and quite knowledgeable. I’ll bet my bottom dollar you will want to go offline and explore them ‘in the flesh’!

*This representation is based on data supplied by the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches or its Multiple Listing Services thru 10/07/2020.