Why leave Harrisburg to go to Lebanon? There is only one reason and it's called Trattoria Fratelli (or Trat Frat as we like to call it). Let's see what Trattoria Fratelli is really all about.
Definition of Trattoria - family owned, casual, rustic neighborhood restaurants found throughout all of Italy that serve fresh, unassuming, conventional local fare.
Definition of Trattoria Fratelli - rustic and cozy. Trattoria Fratelli is a restaurant that is owned by two brothers (fratelli is the Italian work for "brothers") that is traditional in its freshness and atmosphere but innovative in its contemporary Italian cuisine, attracting diners from all over the midstate.
Meandering your way through the genuinely small Trattoria Fratelli, you feel as though you just stepped through narrow alleyways, with stone buildings in a small village of almost any region of Italy. The exposed wooden beams, subtle lighting and the modest tables and chairs of the two dining rooms remind one of a true trattoria - unrefined provincial class. The bar, located along one far wall in this aged building, is original, complete with a subtle tile trough used by bar flies of years gone by instead of spittoons. Today there is no need for the running water to flow through the trough for the obvious reasons. In the corner of the front dining room is a large copper wood burning oven, a key element of some of the great dishes here.
The menu is seasonal except for the four specialty wood roasted pizzas offered year round. Pizza with crisp-bottomed, slightly bubbled thin crusts are a great choice for a shared appetizer or even a late night light meal. A simple blend of four cheeses - asiago, ricotta, percorino, fresh mozzarella - accented with rosemary to keep this pizza bursting with flavor. You get a whiff as it is arriving. Or, try the pizza with origins that date back to 19th century Naples, named for the first Italian queen and representing the colors of the Italian flag - the Pizza Margherita ($6.75). It consists of lightly charred wood roasted Roma tomatoes, olive oil, basil and fresh mozzarella - a union that is sure to survive yet another century. It is sincerely difficult to go back to the Main Street pizzeria after such an experience. Excellent wood baked multi grain bread, dubbed "the bread of life", is served with a saucer of rosemary-infused extra-virgin olive oil.
But, beyond the pizza oven is a kitchen producing some of the best in the region of creative Italian cuisine. For starters in these winter months, try the Tre Ostrica ($8.00), a trio of oysters that we enjoyed delicately baked with bearnaise sauce and watercress. A portabella mushroom is a modest appetizer compatibly partnered with grilled focaccia, goat cheese and laced with a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette ($6.00).
The salad that is served when a main course or pasta is ordered consists of iceberg lettuce with one whole hot pepper, but, by all means substitute from two a la carte salads on the menu. For an additional dollar with your entree, you can partake in baby mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette Caesar with an abundance of thinly shaved pecorino cheese.
Pasta dishes at Trat Frat are bold, although one can order spaghetti with meat sauce. Spaghetti alla Bolognese ($9.5). however gratifying that dish may be we like adventure ... in Lebanon. A seasonal house made ravioli dish is usually found and this writer the pasta encases Maine lobster and wild mushrooms served with a subtle black bean sauce that does not hide the delicate flavor of the lobster ($17.00). The fettuccini with autumn lentils and tossed with vodka-spiked tomato sauce ($12.00) is also offered with shrimp ($17.00). Supplement this dish with the shrimp as these large and meaty morsels add another dimension to the broad strips of ribbon like pasta. One may not be surprised to find an unadorned grilled steak at a Florentine trattoria, as rosemary grilled dry aged strip steak served with garlic whipped potatoes, goat cheese, crisp shallots and balsamic vinegar ($26.00) is just as natural at Trattoria Fratelli. The strip was done perfectly as ordered with the agreeable subtly-permeated potatoes.
My heart quickens when I see the classic Osso Buco on a menu. As Patricia Wells (Restaurant Critic for the International Herald) says, "a great Osso Buco can bring you to your knees," Trattoria Fratelli's Osso Buco Milanses (19.00), had me about proposing marriage to the Chef! Succulent braised veal shanks and creamy, yet al dente saffron risotto enlivens the taste buds. Those folks in Milan knew what they were doing when they developed this dish eons ago. Don't forget to ask for a small demitasse spoon to indulge in the sumptuous marrow inside the pivotal bone.
Another excellent primi features perfectly pink medium rear slices of buttery grilled duck breast fanned around the plate with a perfectly paired starchy base of creamy polenta, caramelized endive and green pepper sauce ($19.00). Filetti di Salmone con Cannelloni (17.00), Trat Frat's filet of Atlantic Salmon with asparagus, makes you forget you are at an Italian restaurant with its composed and stacked presentation. That is until you taste its velvety flesh with the accompanying salt cod and potato cannelloni which completes the composition.
Trattoria Fratelli offers a few sandwiches, too. The wood roasted chicken, herb aioli and fontina cheese panni ($6.75) brings the chicken sandwich to levels almost unimaginable. Delightful, subtle herb garlic mayonnaise is spread on a large herb-focaccia-stlye bun which houses the tender roasted poultry and Roam tomatoes, drizzled with garlic olive oil. I've already gotten it to go to have for lunch the next day. It holds up.
Deserts are rich and contemporary, far reaching from a trattoria in Italy where you might find a tart and you will find fresh fruit. At Trattoria Fratelli, their Creme Brulee is next to impossible to pass up, especially since they adorn the thin crispy torched sugary top with chocolate shavings and berries. If you want to tone down the richness, warm ricotta cake or a fruit flavored sorbetto will do the trick.
Trattoria Fratelli is only open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday and reservations are NOT taken. If you want to go on Saturday, go early or late. Anytime between 6:00 and 8:00, and you will wait. But now that you know what Trattoria Fratelli is all about , you know why there is a wait.
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by Sue Barry