Wellesley's Newest Foody Find

We went to Alta Strada last night. It is located in the space recently vacated by Fig's and despite a somewhat limited menu, I think we traded up getting Michael Schlow's newest restaurant. It is vastly different than his other, and more high-end, eateries (Radius, Great Bay & Via Matta). As I understand it, this is also Schlow's first restaurant without partner Chris Myers and he has clearly succeeded with good, heartly, inexpensive, Italian food...just what the local area was missing. It offers a full bar, counter seating, very pleasant service and beautiful, rustic surroundings.

The menu offers a variety of classic Tuscan foods and an well-rounded good wine list at very reasonable prices. Whether you want thin crust pizza, gnocchi with spicy sausage and peas or a perfectly roasted chicken with meyer lemon, you won't be disappointed. The only drawback: limited selections for children or "selective eaters."

We started with a roasted eggplant salad with goat cheese and some antipasti (3, a bowl of califlower, a bowl of roasted eggplant and red pepper tapinade and marinated mushrooms) which were light, well seasoned and delicious with the freshly baked bread (which looked like it would be great for making pannini). The bottle of wine, a good 2002 Barberi d'Asti (Nebbiolo grape) came pre-decanted in a carafe (this can also be ordered by the glass). While I prefer the more traditional wine opening (at the table, cork, blah, blah), I can't complain about the wine which was light, flavorful and very easy to drink. It had fairly high acidity and low tannins, which is why it paired well with both the chicken, tomato sauce or meat (sausage).

We had the gnocchi and roasted chicken. The gnocchi was tossed with really good sausage and served in a light tomato cream sauce. A few of the gnocchi could have been cooked more, but other than this complaint, the dish was excellent. The chicken was perfectly cooked and seasoned with lots of lemon flavor and what I find missing from most good roast chicken, really crispy skin and moist juicy meat. As someone who likes to cook, I always find that as simple a dish as roast chicken is, it is extremely hard to master. Schlow has. My kids loved the pizza which was thin crusted and rustic with excellent cheese flavor. My more culinarily adventurous younger son thought the spaghetti with little clams in a light tomato sauce was fantastic.

The kids had had it so dessert was on the quick side. We had pistacchio ice cream and it was so good, it had to be homemade. We didn't have coffee or other drinks, but it looked good at the neighboring tables.

The Good: We had reservations and were seated promply. The service was attentive without being hovering and the server was knew the menu and the wine list. They keep a number of tables open (no reservations needed) and plan to open a "Take-out Market" downstairs. The wine list, as I said was well-rounded and reasonably priced.

The Bad: The biggest problems with Alta Strada are the limited selections on the menu, a lack of choices for children and somewhat limited seating. Once it becomes more well known, it will be as packed as Blue Ginger. As a matter of fact, 1 week after it's opening, that may have already happened. We arrived at 6:00 pm for our reservation and were seated immediately, but the bar and waiting area was already jammed with people who were told the wait would be over an hour. With Schlow turning out his usual excellent food, this place won't remain a secret for long

Bottom Line: Despite Figs' more varied and extensive menu, I think Alta Strada is just what Wellesley needed and my diet did not.