Ti Amo Sempre: A new menu for the season
Ti Amo Sempre, which every few years seems to repot itself, is standing pat in its South Beach location this year – focusing its efforts on further improving its charming trattoria and its tempting menu.
Last year at about this time, Ti Amo – which we fi rst encountered in 2005 in its original home on Royal Palm Pointe – was in the process of moving from its Central Beach location in the spot that once was Tango’s to a new South Ocean Drive location that once was Monte’s.
The good news is that the renovation of the building that formerly was Monte’s has produced a Ti Amo Sempre that is a far more open and charming restaurant than its predecessor. When the outside patio area finally is fi nished around the turn of the year, the dining ambience of Ti Amo will be hard to beat.
Even better news is that Ti Amo is in the process of introducing a new, updated “Winter Menu” for the 2010 season, and while many longtime favorites are still offered, some enticing new dishes are being presented as well.
On a recent visit, we passed up some favorites to sample several of Ti Amo’s new dishes. Predictably, we came away impressed.
This time, we decided to skip our two favorite appetizers – the cozze o vongole al martini ($12.95, clams sautéed in dry vermouth, garlic, shallots, and parsley in a lemon butter sauce and the calamari fritti ($12.95), lightly fried squid, spinach and lemon slices served in a spicy marinara sauce – and go straight to the salads.
Two of my companions ordered the Caesar salad ($5.95), topped by two small anchovies with an extremely light dressing. I opted for the spinach salad ($7.95), spinach nicely sautéed with olive oil, garlic, red onions and mushrooms, which was quite tasty.
For main courses, my husband ordered the aragosta e capensante ($25.95), a grilled Florida lobster tail
and a jumbo sea scallop on a bed of fresh marbled pappardelle pasta with a vodka cream sauce and cherry tomatoes.
The lobster tail was cooked perfectly, and this addition to the menu should not be missed.
I ordered the capensante alla griglia ($23.95), grilled jumbo sea scallops served on a bed of risotto with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and peas. This was a very fl avorful dish and again is highly recommended.
One of our companions ordered the pesce del Giorno alla Livornese ($19.95), the fish of the day which on this evening turned out to be black drum.
This is the second time we have encountered black drum in upscale Vero restaurants in recent weeks. Something is going on here.
While flounder, grouper, red snapper, and dolphin are far more commonly found in Vero restaurants, many fishermen have long contended that black drum may be better than any of them.
Our companion, who had never had it before, had high praise for the drum, a firm white fish, grilled perfectly, topped with a tomato, kalamata olive, caper and feta cheese relish and served over parmesan risotto.
She did note (and I confirmed by stealing a forkful) that the kalamata olives, capers and feta cheese combined to make the topping a trifle too salty.
Our other companion had the gnocchi principessa ($16.95), gnocchi made with spinach, potatoes, carrots, parmesan cheese and sautéed with a creamy roasted walnut, prosciutto, gorgonzola sauce. Very tasty. Ti Amo’s pasta dishes always have been delicious.
While the new menu includes such old favorites as the piccata di vitello ($19.95), veal scaloppini sautéed with lemon butter and capers served over linguini, there are a variety of new additions which we look forward to trying on future visits.
One that certainly sounds interesting is the cinghiale brasato al chianti ($18.95), chianti braised wild boar served with braised cabbage.
One that I suspect I am more likely to order is the costini di manzo ($24.95), beef short ribs, braised and cooked Ossobuco style and served over saffron risotto and grilled asparagus. Yum.
For desserts, two top choices remain the very tasty tiramisu ($5.00) or the crepe with fresh strawberries, a surprisingly light confection given that it is drizzled with Neutella and topped with whipped cream ($6.95). Both go very well with a cup of espresso ($3.00).
Dinner for two with a nice bottle of wine comes to about $130 before tip. Ti Amo Sempre is a very well run restaurant with hands-on, caring owners and an inventive cuisine that on many occasions has delighted.
Vincenzo (Enzo) Perucchini, the male half of the ownership couple (Lisa is in the kitchen), often drops by the tables during dinner to insure you are enjoying the meal, and to chat about the wines and food of his native Verona.
In the years since the Perucchinis first launched Ti Amo, Italian restaurant competition in Vero Beach has certainly grown stiffer. But Ti Amo is clearly moving to meet the challenge, and seems well positioned this season to welcome back old customers and lure new ones.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
Hours
Daily, 5 pm to closing
Bar
Full Bar
Address (MAP)
1517 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach, FL, Phone: (772) 231-1550
