Cori Pastificio Trattoria, also known as Cori Pasta, is a Sicilian restaurant near North Park, San Diego. “Cori” means heart in chef and owner Accursio’s native Sicilian dialect which is why their slogan is cooking from the heart. They focus on authentic and handmade food that is meant to be shared with family and friends.
First, we have their tonno e melanzane, which is their Sicilian style tuna tartare with persimmon, olives, capers, and herbs served on a crispy warm eggplant bruschetta. This dish was absolutely delicious, I was blown away by how well the flavors and textures work altogether. This was an extremely addictive appetizer and really worked to get our appetites going. Honestly, I would eat an entire meal of this. I love tuna tartare and they did such a great job of making it, the fish was super tender and well-seasoned. It was just perfect and kept me wanting more. The eggplant bruschetta was a very nice vessel to serve the delicious tuna on. It was very crispy but not hard and contrasted with the tenderness of the tuna well.
Next, their fazzolette alla zucca a anatra is their beautiful ravioli filled with butternut, duck sausage, and mostardo di Cremona, and it is sauteed with butter, sage, and crispy pancetta. One of the things I noticed about this restaurant is that everything is flavored to perfection. The flavor combinations are quite unique but they work so well and nothing was under-seasoned, the flavors were just so on point and each dish brought a new taste to the table which is amazing and keeps you excited for their next dish. With that being said, this dish is no exception when it came to spectacular flavor. The butternut offered a slight sweetness that worked well with the salty and umami flavor of the rest of the dish. The ravioli was tender and soft and overall very satisfying to bite into, especially with the sweet and soft butternut filling.
Their frittelle cacio e pepe is one of their most popular dishes. It is made with their savory Italian style doughnuts with pecarino foam and pipli black pepper. The presentation of this dish was very unique and was another great appetizer. The doughnuts offered a nice crispy texture with a soft, doughy inside and the foam was very creamy and delicious. This was a bit filling so I wouldn’t recommend eating too many, but still very delicious regardless and definitely a showstopper when it comes to your table.
Next is their costolette di agnello, which is their cast-iron seared lamb chops that are crusted with pistachio and served with baby artichoke, roasted potatoes, and fresh mint dressing. This dish was absolutely fantastic and we fell in love with it right away even though we were already extremely full. Like I said before, their flavors were just immaculate and kept us going back for more. I need to know what sauce they used to serve it because it was amazing! It was the perfect balance of sweet and savory and was so addictive. The lamb chops themselves were perfectly cooked, so tender and juicy. I have no complaints about this dish whatsoever and was definitely one of our favorites from the night. Absolutely perfect and would 10/10 recommend this to anyone who plans to go here or loves lamb chops (like me!).
Lastly is their mezze maniche ai fruitti mare, which is their seafood pasta infused with parsley and comes with clams, mussels, calamari, prawns, cherry tomatoes, and citrus-infused EVOO and Chardonnay wine. This dish was not our favorite. It was a bit salty for our preference and the seafood did not stand out too much. The pasta itself was well-made, but the seafood and the sauce turned us away a bit. We were quite disappointed with this dish, especially since everything else was so fantastic. There’s also nothing unique or that stands out about it, overall, very mediocre.
This is a really great traditional restaurant and the ambiance and environment is on point as well. If you go here, you definitely need to try their lamb chops. They are probably some of the best lamb chops I’ve ever had and you will not regret it if you love lamb. However, they do change up their menu from time to time, but hopefully those lamb chops will get to stay for a while.
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