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Dine

Finally, pork with Italian flair

Go to Da Luca Italian Restaurant for its occasional pork special, but don't despair if it's not on the menu. The rest is worthy, too.

By CHRIS SHERMAN
Published February 3, 2005

[Times photo: Scott Keeler]

Luca Quatraro, owner of Da Luca Italian Restaurant, sits with some his Clearwater restaurant’s fare: clockwise from front, a fresh mozzarella salad; grouper entree with clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari, white wine, fresh herbs, extra-virgin olive oil and linguine; roasted pork with garlic, fresh herbs, extra-virgin olive oil, champagne and linguine.

Since Da Luca doesn't have roasted pork every night, perhaps I shouldn't brag on it.

But just try finding pork on an Italian menu anywhere around a world gone mad for veal and chicken breast. (I'd be delighted to find leg quarters in a cacciatore.)

Back to the pork, Da Luca had it as a special on two visits a week apart, so it must be a favorite. It should be, because pork is a regular part of the Italian menu, although I'll grant that pork like this is a special occasion. However, Da Luca's offering was not a fancy crown roast or big chops, but a more humble cut elevated above them by roasting for hours in white wine, herbs and olive oil. Cook it this way and you'll never wonder how modern pork got to be so darn dry.

Served on freshly made and truly toothsome linguine, this may be the best I've ever had. And I was born in Porkopolis, where pigs danced with apples, studied barbecue in eastern North Carolina and have lived many years here in the land of puerco asado and big chops. This was so rich I'd advise a couple of squeezes of a lemon wedge just for conscience's sake.

You needn't despair if there is no pork when you go, because Da Luca's menu includes a carne del giorno, harkening back to the old tradition when inns and bistros simply cooked a roast or haunch every day and cut off servings as the day went on. I may go back just hoping for a lamb day.

Indeed, Da Luca has a slow-paced, European feel, although it sits in a busy, modern strip center in a slot most recently held by Pulcinella. It has been revamped in a way that is brighter but does not feel new; the plaster walls are roughly ridged and strung with icicle strings of sparkling lights. If you were the only customer, you'd still feel welcome and cared for. Still, Da Luca is better later in the evening when several tables are chattering away.

If pork or meat of any kind appalls you, there is always eggplant, and Da Luca's is true to Italian form, thanks to olive oil or a special magic I can't duplicate at home.

Here, eggplant is the best of cold-cooked vegetables set out on a sideboard for antipasti, available stuffed with ricotta for appetizers, and tossed with bucatini in tomato sauce. Bucatini is an old pasta dish from Southern Italy and makes an entree as hearty as the pork. It also shows off this odd noodle, long and thick but hollow, to good advantage when it sucks up savory sauce and when it doesn't. Good luck trying to finish the dish. My advice is don't; take it home for another meal.

Breads and trim are simple, but the house salad is crisp and done with fine emulsified balsamic vinegar. Any appetizer with fresh clams in it will have you soaking all your bread.

On the other hand, a special of grouper and a mix of shellfish on linguine was the usual just punishment for those who want to have all kinds of seafood whether they can be cooked right or not. Perhaps this would work better with more wine or citrus juice to give it an acidic edge.

There is veal and chicken, of course, along with gnocchi and porcini mushrooms, but don't call this "Northern Italian." Luca Quatraro is from Puglia and Mario Eiaule is from Napoli, and their cooking covers various regions with an emphasis on local traditions. (Quatraro is a former importer of Italian delicacies.)

Da Luca is still getting established, but it adds a new dimension to dining at what was once the dullest-eating crossroads in Pinellas. Now there's upscale Italian and a Bonefish Grill, and this block alone is packed with Chinese, Greek, coffee shop, fern bar, subs, burgers, sushi and most recently robust Mexican (Poblano's) and fiery Indian (Laziz).

That still leaves room for lusty pork and bucatini.

-- Chris Sherman dines anonymously and unannounced. The Times pays for all expenses. A restaurant's advertising has nothing to do with selection for a review or the assessment of its quality. He can be reached at 727 893-8585 or sherman@sptimes.com

Oakbrook Plaza

2475 N McMullen-Booth Road

Clearwater

(727) 669-0900

Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday.

Reservations accepted.

Details: Outdoor seating; restroom adapted; no smoking; beer, wine.

Prices: Dinner, $10.95 to $19.95.

[Last modified February 2, 2005, 13:32:07]