A staple of the menu: Ristorante Toscano, recipe for Tutto Peppe

by Sandra Miller
Beacon Hill Times
They say everyone has a second career in them. When John Hancock chief executive David D’Alessandro sold the business to a Canadian insurer, he decided to make a change and bought Ristorante Toscano on Charles Street, down the street from an apartment he keeps. D’Alessandro had been going there for years, and when he found out that the owner, Vinicio Paoli, was moving back to Italy with his family, he bought it. He runs it with his son, Andrew, a Boston College graduate who trained at the Cambridge Culinary Arts School, and recruited Richard Cacciagrani from the Palm over at the Westin. But D’Alessandro is hands-off for the most part, and the operation is run team-style by Andrew and Cacciagrani, along with longtime restaurant manager Rick Hayes.
They opened Toscano’s in January 2007, and then closed it that summer for a few months of renovations. The results were stunning, a cozy effect achieved with artist Ulla Darni’s gorgeous light fixtures, a striking wall of wine, a glassed-in 1,200-bottle wall, flooring that alternates between 85-year-old walnut flooring from New Hampshire and slate-looking porcelain floors, and heavy dining room doors carved with the restaurant’s fleur-de-lis design and also ironwork from a Sante Fe designer. There are several pockets that create intimate dining atmosphere, with comfy leather seats, including the downstairs’ 12-seat roundtable Grotto, a 25-seat dining room behind closed doors, and a bar that is expanded into a “café” (you can’t come in for a beer or wine unless you order food, so technically there’s no bar, according to licensing rules).
“We gutted everything,” said Andrew D’Alessandro, who lives on Boylston Street. And they dropped the “Ristorante” from the name.
Along with the locals, you can spot politicos and developers, the occasional celebrity who appreciates the low lighting and intimate corners. Despite the economic downturn, the owners say they haven’t experienced any real loss in business, from a few business dinners each week to regulars coming in two or three times a week.
“We have a real customer base,” said Cacciagrani, who used to work at Rebecca’s down the street. “Local business is our main focus. They’ve been very supportive of our restaurant. We’re lucky to receive support from Beacon Hill. In the North End, so many restaurants rely on tourism. We rely on the neighborhood’s support. The best time to see what our restaurant is about is during a snowstorm, when everyone comes in and is talking to each other and having a good time.”
As a result, they aren’t changing their menu with prix fixe discounts or 2 for 1 coupons, but they do offer a range of price points to appeal to a variety of budgets. Their quartino wine flasks carry a quarter of a liter of wine, or about two glasses, for the price of a glass elsewhere.
In fact, the classic Tuscan dishes haven’t changed much in 25 years, which please the regulars just fine. Among the favorites that fly out of the kitchen are the Rigatoni Toscano, a creamy and smoky pasta dish with bacon and herbs, the handmade gnocchi, and the pappa al pomodoro Tuscan soup. They bake their focaccia and Tuscan loaves daily, and make their own sausage, such as last week’s wild boar sausage special.
The chefs have been here more than a decade, and trained with the former Tuscan owner. Many are from Central America and Cambodia. There are no Italians in the kitchen, but, said Cacciagrani, “We have some of the best seasoned Tuscan chefs in the United States.” A few of the chefs trained under Paoli and have been at Toscano’s for 15 or so years.
The kitchen doesn’t have a flashy chef in Samuel Gomez, who moved from Colombia when he was 17 and discovered he liked cooking. Gomez is a cheerful but industrious, no-nonsense chef who just wants to create the same good food that his customers enjoy. “At home, I like to cook short ribs, stuff like that,” said Gomez, of Bremen Street in East Boston, husband of Deana and father of Shaun, 9, and Wendy, 10. “I like to make things that are very simple and easy to do. I don’t like Colombian food.” You can also spot him working a butcher’s shift at Whole Foods on Cambridge Street.
The restaurant owners don’t plan to open a chain. “It’s a nice life here,” said Cacciagrani. “We compare ourselves to Hamersley’s [Bistro], a single restaurant that’s a part of the community. We don’t want to lose that personal touch.”
Gail Weber of Winchester shared two salads, the chicken Milanese and rigatoni Toscano and a few desserts with her cousin, Linda (Battistini) Poulin last Friday. “I think it’s wonderful here,” said Weber. “It’s a restaurant that’s part of the neighborhood. Weber has been coming here since it opened and she began working in the Back Bay. She started eating here in good weather, and soon trekked over for lunch or dinner even in the winter. She knows a lot of the regulars and the new owners, and even visited the former owner when she was in Florence. “It’s priced for all people’s tastes and needs. It’s a younger feel, with no pretentiousness. The food isn’t oversauced, it’s clean food,” she said.


Tutto Peppe
(Serves Two)
This is a simple and quick recipe, using only a few simple ingredients to create a fully flavored and yummy dish. The meat melts in your mouth, it’s so tender and juicy.

Ingredients

1 T. extra virgin olive oil (they use Manini brand)
(2) 10 oz. beef tenderloin (They use Brandt Black Angus, which is all natural)
1 T. black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
¼ cup brandy (cheap is fine)
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt

Preparation

1. Heat In a medium sauté pan, heat oil on high heat.
2. Take filets out of refrigerator and press peppercorns into one side of both filets.
3. Sear the steaks peppercorn side down for 4-5 minutes – do not move them at all.
4. Flip the steaks over and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until steaks are medium rare. If you use a digital thermometer, take the steaks off a few digits shy of the 137 degrees required for medium-rare status – the steaks will cook on their own a little.
5. Add brandy – when you put it back on the heat, it should flambé, or catch fire, so prepare your stove area accordingly!
6. When the fire is gone, add heavy cream and a pinch of kosher salt. Reduce the cream and brandy sauce until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – if necessary, take the meat out of the pan so you don’t overcook.
7. Remove the steaks and plate them on a dish. Pour brandy cream sauce over steaks, garnish with fresh parsley, let it rest a few minutes so the juices will rest in the steaks.

This can be served with potatoes. Gomez made his with red bliss potatoes, halved and tossed with pepper, salt and rosemary in olive oil, roasted in a 450 degree oven for 35 minutes.
The chef recommends a side of spinach or broccoli rabe, sautéed in garlic and olive oil until wilted.
Bartender Giacomo Romoli, a native of Florence, Italy, recommended a glass of Rosso Di Montalcino, which he said has enough “acidity to cut through the cream sauce, but won’t overpower the steak.”