Trattoria Borago: Warming Heart and Soul on 30A
80 E. Highway 30A, Grayton Beach, 231-9167
By Bruce Collier February 12, 2004 Issue

Trattoria Borago is the kind of spot one heads for on a chilly night. The interior is warm, dimly illuminated, but cheerful and inviting, especially the room-length full-service bar which is your first sight upon entering. If you’re there to eat, you can turn right and enter the spacious dining room, decorated Italian country style and further warmed by the open kitchen at the far end. Food is prepared in full audience view, and the scent of cooking is an aperitivo by itself.

We ordered cocktails and read the menu. Our attentive server answered every question, made recommendations, then produced a generous basket of warm, thick and chewy house made focaccia, a rich herb-seasoned bread. On the table are pitchers of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, plus salt and pepper to mix up a dipping sauce, to which our server added grated cheese.

We decided to share an appetizer and salad, choosing veal meatballs with cheese polenta and a mixed green and tomato salad with Fontina cheese and roasted shallot vinaigrette. After a suitable interval to enjoy our cocktails, which were excellent, our server brought the meatballs. They were very well made, mildly seasoned to allow the taste of the veal to come through. The polenta was likewise good, livened with a roasted tomato sauce. My one complaint was that there were only two meatballs, which seemed a little spare for the $11 price tag. The salad, which they split on two plates for us, was exemplary, especially the sweet shallot dressing. We got another basket of focaccia to keep our hands busy.

Other appetizer choices include tomato bisque, mussels poached in white wine, calamari with aioli, arroncini (a risotto and cheese ball) with tomato and pesto sauce, Parmesan fried oysters, pan seared scallops with polenta, and seared tuna with arugula, fried capers and spicy mustard sauce. Salad options include a classic Caesar, arugula salad with Gorgonzola, and a tomato and mozzarella salad.

Main courses are divided between pastas and meat, fish, chicken, beef, and pork entrees. We decided to skip the pasta, though I have sampled Borago’s pasta offerings before, always with satisfaction. I ordered a horseradish-encrusted salmon with cheese polenta, vegetables and a roasted tomato butter sauce. My friend ordered the balsamic vinegar glazed pork tenderloin, served with polenta and garlic sautéed spinach.

The salmon was cooked medium, at the chef’s suggestion. It was crisp and tangy on the outside, moist and flavorful inside. The crunchy julienne vegetables and creamy polenta backed it right up to the hilt. My friend’s pork tenderloin was likewise cooked just medium, and the balsamic glaze gave it an irresistible sweet charred flavor, well balanced by the mild polenta. The garlic sautéed spinach even earned praise from my usually spinach-intolerant friend. Trust garlic to bridge the gap.

Pasta choices were linguine, angel hair, tortellini, spaghetti, fusilli, and penne. Various sauces included a three-meat Bolognese, chili, garlic and olive oil, hot Italian sausage, tomato basil sauce, mussel, artichoke, mushroom and spinach sauce, pancetta, mushroom and corn, toasted pine nuts and olives, and tomato mascarpone cream. Main course options included grouper NiÁoise, roasted eggplant lasagna, chicken or veal piccata, and grilled beef filet with Boursin or Gorgonzola cheese.

Three desserts were offered that night, but we limited ourselves to two, one each. I had the apple crostada with ice cream, and my friend ordered the dark chocolate creme br°leé. The third offering was tiramisu, which will have to wait for a return visit. The crostada was served warm, with a caramel sauce, and reminded me of how much I love apple pie, in all its many forms. Dark chocolate is a good thing served any way, but in creme br°leé it outdoes itself.

Scenic Highway 30A is a little quiet this time of year. Weather being what it has been lately, The Beachcomber has graciously allowed me to hone in on restaurants offering substantial comfort food. Borago is an outstanding example of such a place. Menu items can vary, so what I’ve listed above may not be there when you go, or might be there in a slightly different form. Borago posts its menu outside, so you can preview it. Better yet, go inside, sit at the comfortably inviting bar, and study the menu over a drink. Remember, where we live, others vacation.

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