If you live in the New York City or Fairfield County area and are looking for a quick trip to Italy, look no further than Greenwich's own Lugano Salumeria & Wine Bar. Between the hand-crafted cocktails, specially curated cheese plates, outstanding bruschettas, and quality pastas, you'll be full for days once you leave. Spoon University Fairfield had the pleasure of attending a dinner through our friends at Foodie Tribe and MaxExPR, which was an out of this world experience. The food never stopped coming out! We were able to taste just about everything from the roasted truffle sprouts, to the beets and goat cheese salad, the gnocchi pesto, to the spicy shrimp and scallops, and we ended the night with some of their delicious desserts including the tiramisu.
Tapas
Let’s start with the appetizers. The cheese plate arrived with the creamiest burrata I’ve ever seen. Layer that with some prosciutto on top of a crispy crostini and you’re in heaven. Then comes the short rib bruschetta piled high with meat, topped with portobello, caramelized onion, smoked provolone, and a balsamic reduction (YUM!). Let’s not forget the fresh shrimp scampi smothered in a lemon butter white wine sauce. After the tapas we tasted some salads including fresh arugula salad, which was the perfect bite after all the meat & cheese! It's topped with mozzarella, olives, fennel, tomatoes, and tossed in a house dressing. Is your mouth watering yet? We're only getting started!
Primi y Secondi
One of my personal favorite dishes of the night was the linguini carbonara. If you want to go to Lugano for only one thing, make it the creamy carbonara with the most perfectly cooked egg laying right on top (for the perfect yolk boomerang of course). In addition to the carbonara, we also got a tasting of short rib ravioli which is featured on our Instagram, @spoon_fairfield. These raviolis are homemade and topped with a Marsala wine sauce that pairs perfectly with the short rib flavor. When it was time for Secondi, we had the bistecca di manzo which was cooked to perfection in a barolo red wine reduction. Not to mention the pile of Tuscan herbed fries that came with it! My favorite dish from the Secondi was the spicy shrimp and scallops. I LOVE a good scallop, and these were seared perfectly with a garlic white wine sauce. Whether you're looking for a hearty steak or some fresh seafood, Lugano will not disappoint.
Desserts & Atmosphere
As if we weren’t full enough from the entire dinner, we ended the night with desserts. The cheesecake with a strawberry glaze was the ideal sweet bite to end the night. The overall atmosphere at Lugano is enough to make you return! The long marble bar and cozy red booths will make you feel like you're in an upscale restaurant in the heart of Venice. The service is impeccable as well. All of our servers were super attentive and friendly! Whether you and the girls want to go for happy hour or your parents are coming in for the weekend, Lugano is the perfect place for authentic Italian dishes!