Loveland’s bumper crop of suburban subdivisions have spawned not just an explosion in chain restaurants, but three new independent eateries on Old Town’s Fourth Street. From the outside, Monaco Trattoria looks pretty, starchy – and pricey.
Don’t let the warm, gold walls and the white tablecloths fool you. To make it in Loveland without the serious corporate backing and predictable menu of a chain, you must cater to a wide variety of tastes and budgets.
Chef Giuseppe Monaco and wife Tammy Hiatt Monaco manage it, combining fresh, organic ingredients with staples flown in from Giuseppe’s native Capri. Sure, there’s a long wine list on the back of the lunch menu and a nightly martini lounge. But daily multi-course lunch specials run $10 ($12 for fresh fish); a small collection of sandwiches runs $7.25 to $9.50. A restrained tour of the menu won’t break the bank.
Monaco’s long swath of a dining room ends more informally: in a counter fronting an open kitchen where you might be able to swap banter with ponytailed chef Giuseppe or grill him about his white-tiled, wood-fired bread oven, which his father, Giovanni, flew over from Italy to help him build.
That oven births the bread you’ll be crunching in those sandwiches, and the must-try bruschetta that serves as appetizer on the special. Diagonally sliced bread piled with grape tomatoes, bits of mild garlic and a sparse scattering of basil shouldn’t be this good, but liberally lubed in an olive oil produced by a family friend, it’s a temptation in itself – to lick the plate, which the joint just seems a little too classy for.
Saltimbocca tonno e pomodoro ($7.25), a tuna sandwich at its most basic, was subtly oozing more of this yummy oil, glistening around big chunks of imported canned tuna from Sicily and more grape tomatoes.
Meat lasagne ($10.50) boasted a smoky, mysterious undertone, handmade pasta and super-creamy ricotta. Both it and the vegetarian version ($9.50) are the product of long sauté-ing and blending; the pasta is made with the same flour the restaurant uses in its wood- fired pizza ($10.95-$13.95.)
Giuseppe spoke highly of some halibut and salmon that arrived that morning, so I went for the fish special, which got me the bruschetta, soup or salad, the entree and a soft drink. He was right – the salmon was incredible, rich and buttery and perfectly cooked, not a hair overdone. It arrived on a mound of rosemary mashed potatoes and a swirl of dilled oil. At six or seven generous bites, it might have been bigger, but I couldn’t imagine it being better.
Susan Clotfelter can be reached at 303-820-1339 or at sclotfelter@denverpost.com.
—————————————-
Monaco Trattoria
Italian|218 E. Fourth St.,
Loveland; 970-461-1889|
$7.25-$13.95|Open Monday-
Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday
4 p.m.-9 p.m. Visa, MC, Amex,
Discover.
—————————————-
Front burner: Real Italian staples and a warm, knowledgeable staff; that oil; a house- made tiramisu bigger than your head.
Back burner: Portion sizes might not quell a linebacker’s appetite – abundant lures to come back and while away a whole afternoon.
