poy: Taranta Cucina Meridionale

Taranta is a solid choice for a special occasion dinner out in the North End. I find they cater well to large parties as evidenced by Saturday evening where I was dining with a group of women for Kirsten's Bachelorette party and in the past I have celebrated a friends birthday here with a large group of mixed company.

Just because I associate them with hosting large groups, doesn't mean they compromise on the classic intimacy you'd come to expect when dinning out in Boston's Little Italy. I assure you this restaurant would be just as special for a date night or intimate celebration for two. Taranta packs a crowd into three floors where each cozy level over looks Hanover Street.

The first level beholds floor to ceiling street front windows, which I love to see open in the warm months. The atmosphere as a whole is enchanting with a combination of exposed brick and exposed granite stone walls. An eclectic mix of colorful dangling glass light fixtures hang from the ceilings and even the circular lights embedded in the steel staircase emitting deep blue, yellow and green lights captivate you from the moment you set foot inside.

Opened in July of 2000, Taranta focuses on Southern Italian meets Peruvian Cuisine. The restaurant is owned by Chef Jose Duarte (who is originally from Peru) and his wife Anna. The owners deserve much praise for their commitment to sustainable initiatives in all aspects of work. This restaurant became Green Certified in 2007 and in 2008 received The City of Boston Green Business Award. They use efficient lighting and are recycling and composting 99% of their waste stream; which is pretty darn impressive.

When some of us arrived 15-20 minutes late, the host and hostess were completely understanding and welcomed us with open arms all the same. They had even sat the members of our party who were on time, which I know some restaurants are hesitant to do. I really appreciated their thoughtfulness and hospitality regarding this matter.

I spotted a Pisco Sour ($10) Puervian Pisco, Lemon, Egg White, Sugar, Angostura featured on the menu and decided to try this one out for size. You might recall I drank a Galliano Sour the night before at The Abbey, so clearly this was the weekend for sour martinis! A grape liquor whose namesake honors to the city of Pisco, this traditional Peruvian cocktail with lemon, bitters and a dash of sugar combined with the delicate frothiness of the egg white revealed a complex and lip puckeringly sour taste.

I drank two. They went down way too easy. I was impressed when our waiter after announcing the specials, gave us his sincere apologies for the wait we experienced early on after we were seated. Waters were filled sporadically as opposed to immediately and it took longer than usual for our him to grace us with his presence and take drink orders. I'm hesitant to admit because it didn't seem to matter whatsoever to any of the 12 women engaged in conversation. The fact that he acknowledged our wait with a simple apologetic gesture was a stand up move. It was all it took to set the tone for the rest of the meal. He was efficient and attentive from there on out and overall did a fantastic job, managing to get all 12 drinks and entrees correct in a timely fashion without writing anything down! For my entree I chose one of the specials that evening. Butternut Squash Ravioli brown sugar, sage and cream sauce with asparagus and shrimp. This dish to me represents fall. The raviolis were well made and the sauce flavorful and comforting, however I was a little disappointed in the asparagus as it was added sparingly and the bites were considerably smaller than I was expecting. The generous addition of plump juicy shrimp was a job well done and took this traditional fall entree to the next level.

I will say that this menu is rather pricey. Pasta entrees run you about $25 a plate. I tried a few bites of the Pappardelle con Funghi Porcini ($26) Free form cut pappardelle pasta with wild muhrooms, porcini and truffle oil and it was exquisite. The meat and seafood entrees range from $27 - $36. I think it is important to remember Taranta's commitment to the environment, so perhaps the prices are a reflection of their efforts to maintain a certified Green establishment.

We did order three desserts to share - A traditional Tiramisu ($8), the Hazelnut Mousse ($8) with a drizzle of dulce de leche, and Chocolate Souffle Cake ($10). I wasn't about to make anyone wait to dig in, hence, desserts went unphotograped. Sometimes this is for the best. The Tiramisu was excellent, living up to all my expectations. The Chocolate Souffle was disappointing, but I had really high and perhaps unfair expectations after this souffle. The Hazelnut Mousse with its decadent layers was hands down my favorite of the three. The flecks of nuttiness dispersed throughout added a texture similar to a Ferro Rocher candy.

A minor bump in service in the beginning of the evening and the fact that I wanted a little more asparagus in my entree, isn't enough to keep me from recommending a visit to Taranta. I'm confident in this establishment as a whole because the staff is truly wonderful and their business practices demonstrate real integrity. The marriage of Italian and Peruvian cuisine makes for a unique concept to embrace in Little Italy.

P.S. Earlier that afternoon I was getting pampered with some of the ladies at Christine's Day Spa in Quincy. I received hands down (haha) the best massage I've ever had. I felt so relaxed and spoiled the entire day.