With a name like Caffe Espresso Trattoria, my mind conjured up a picture of a small storefront Café with a limited seating and menu. I was pleasantly surprised to find a larger establishment neatly tucked away behind a Rite Aid Pharmacy. This is definitely one of those locations you need to know where it is because you are not likely to stumble upon it in your travels. With that being said, the restaurant was very busy for a Tuesday night. After being seated we were served bread and olive oil. The atmosphere was pleasant, conversations were slightly difficult due to the bustling restaurant that seemed to carry noise. I chose as my main course Chicken All’ Arrabiata which was served with a soup or salad. The Chicken Vegetable soup tasted freshly made but was rather plain. Fortunately the spice and complex flavors would follow in the next course.
The Chicken All’ Arrabiata (from the Italian for angry) was a masterfully prepared dish that was described as Sautéed Chicken Breast with peperoncini peppers, onions, and mushrooms in a spicy wine garlic sauce. The dish was served over a homemade cavatelli pasta. The cavatelli pasta was perfectly prepared and absorbed the complex tastes of the white wine, peperoncini, garlic sauce. The chicken as perfectly sautéed thin chicken breast medallions that were easy to cut with a fork and the zesty spice from the sauce paired perfectly with this dish. The peperoncini peppers were a slight variation from the typical preparation that usually uses more red pepper, but this is definitely a dish that would have me seeking out this hidden jewel again. After finishing this dish I felt very content and full.
