NOTE:
This event filled up really fast (again!) - but please don't be discouraged! Typically 40% of the people who sign up end up cancelling and I will also try and see if Taranta will allow us to have a larger group. So please check here to see if your name is on the waiting list or let me know that you wish to be on the waiting list for this event and there is a chance you may still be able to attend this event.

Let's close out 2007 with a fine dinner in the North End!

TARANTA is the result of a marriage between Southern Italian Cuisine and Peruvian Cuisine, and it's success is due to its quality of food and service, and having a strong personality really helps. TARANTA cooks and lives Southern Italian cuisine with a Peruvian twist. Chef-Owner José Duarte wife Anna, and Chef Laura Henry, have focused on this massive feat and the critics agree, TARANTA Cucina Meridionale has done it, better than ever.

THE SCENE
For all its character, the North End doesn't have many true originals; Taranta is one of the few. One of the neighborhood's most-expansive restaurants, Taranta splits its vast dining space between three levels with a more spare, urban look than most of its homey neighbors. Tambourines dangle from rustic, exposed-brick walls in tribute to the Tarantella, the traditional Southern-Italian dance from which the restaurant takes its name. At peak hours, the high ceilings don't help the noise levels in the otherwise mellow, romantic setting. Jovial, unobtrusive and enthusiastic service is faultless. A well-chosen wine list and impressive selection of after-dinner liqueurs highlight the drink options.

THE FOOD
Taranta's seasonal menu meshes Latin American ingredients with Italian fare, yielding dishes like cassava root gnocchi with green lamb ragù, double-cut pork chops with sugar cane-rocoto pepper glaze or ravioli stuffed with duck confit and lucuma fruit. Giant corn, quinoa and plantains pop up almost as often as pancetta and mozzarella. The wine list likewise excites, as it bounces around both southern Italy and South America. Pan-roasted baby chicken with Peruvian asparagus in a sauce of drunken plums, roasted shallots and panca chili personifies the kitchen's unique approach. Purists, however, can rest easy over items like mussels pan-roasted with bacon in Marsala and parchment-baked fusilli, which may even elicit that old chestnut: ?Now that's Italian!?

As usual we expect this dinner event to fill up fast - but please keep checking back as many people drop out at the last minute.

LINKS:

Menu

Directions