I have been dismissing Ecco Trattoria for years. As a rule of thumb, I generally avoid restaurants that are attached to other stores in those horrid little "shopping mart" set ups. Breakfast places and coffee shops are exempt from this rule, but a wine bar? i don't know..
The decor is simple, inviting and warm. With the candles lit and a soft murmer of couples enjoying a slow Tuesday wine-down (ha ha, ok that was bad), I immediately felt relaxed. With a 10 or so person bar against the back wall separated from the dining area by a free standing 4-5ft divider and a window to see into the kitchen prep nestled in the right corner, it felt much like a restaurant you would actually find in Northern Italy. My mother and I cozied up to a high top table, where we were warmly greeted by our server.
Decent wine list - you'd go here for bargain, not quality. There are a lot of inexpensive bottles of wine and most wines can be poured by the caraf for as little as $11. They also have a creative drink list with a variety of martinis ranging from espresso-tinis to lemoncello drops. I tried the red and white sangria - both a little too fruity with too much peach shnapps and not enough fresh fruit, and a glass of the Covey Run Reisling (always delightful)
I was tempted by the mussels or medeterranean shrimp with pancetta and white beans for an app but opted for a dinner special instead.
Sunday, Tuesday and Wed Ecco offers 10 of their most popular pasta dishes for only $11.95, and they throw in a caeser or mixed greens salad as well! If you happen to be unlucky enough to stop by on a Monday instead, that same pasta meal would cost between $16 and $20 with an extra $4-5 for the salad. While I wanted to order the seafood scampi (with Mahi Mahi, shrimp, scallops and lobster) to get the most bang for my buck, I was wooed over by the carmalized onions in the chicken cacciatore. I ordered the meal over broccoli (because I'm skinny like that!) for an additional $2 charge.
The mixed salad was fresh and light, with a handful of kalamata olives and roasted tomatos.
My entree was a very hearty portion of two large pounded chicken breasts. They were incredibly moist and flavorful. I asked for roasted garlic to be added to the meal, and the garlic combined with the roasted tomatos, peppers and large carmalized onions was heavenly. Broccoli was nice and firm too. I also sampled the pasta primavera. The light white wine sauce was tastey and heavy on the garlic, but i'm skeptical that the vegetables were drenched in butter, making the dish a lot less appealing to me.
My only vice is the bread was served with butter packets instead of olive oil. Of course i could have simply asked for some evoo and perhaps a little balsamic for bread dipping, but that's not the point. How are you going to call yourself an Italian restaurant and put butter packets on the table? deplorable. There was also a chair in the one person women's bathroom that seemed largly out of place and made me feel as if I had walked into someones private dressing room.
Overall, Ecco would be good for dates, girls nights or a lovely dinner with your mom. I would definitely advise going during the pasta special nights or on Thursdays, when they offer 10 lobster dishes for $17.95. If I went back on a Fri or Sat I would probably order a salad or chicken pesto pizza. As another rule of thumb, italians don't really kill-it in the dessert department, and this especially applies to American attempts at the classic cannoli, tiramasu and napoleon. I don't think I've seen a restaurant in Italy serve a dessert to anyone besides American tourists -- Italianos finish off their hearty meals with a few nibbles of fruit or a digestivo shot of lemoncello. On the healthy rictor, it's definitely feasible to come here and eat a healthy well-balanced meal. They offer salmon, a few salads, raw bar, and you can sub any pasta dish to put over the vegetable of the day. I would recommend requesting no butter and DEMANDING olive oil.
I'll give Ecco 3 out of 5 stars. Bravo.
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