What I Tried: I decided on a piadina, and my dining companion had a pasta bowl. To drink, I chose peach iced tea and he had a berry Italian soda, both of which were dispensed from a help-yourself dispenser suited to the restaurant’s theme.
A piadina could be described as an Italian burrito. It begins with a wrap similar to a flour tortilla but made with olive oil, which gives it a slightly nutty (not the crazy variety of “nutty”) flavor. It is thinner and more flexible than a flour tortilla and holds together much better. Before the wrap is filled with ingredients, it is placed on an oiled griddle where it unevenly bubbles and browns. Pasta lays the foundation for the rest of ingredients. Diners choose a meat or seasoned fresh vegetables and then top off the piadina from a selection of add-ins that include vegetables, sauce, cheese and pesto. The possibilities are numerous.
For my piadina, I decided on the house-made Italian sausage, roasted zucchini and mushrooms, shaved Parmesan cheese, and diavolo sauce, which is a house-made tomato and cheese sauce. Unlike typical Italian sausage, which is usually defined by whole fennel seeds bursting with anise-like flavor, Strada’s sausage is made with ground, roasted fennel that imparts an entirely different taste. I found it to have a remarkable, robust flavor with a pleasant texture without any unpleasantly unchewable globules. It was, frankly, the best sausage I’ve ever had. All my add-in choices were flattering to the sausage, making my piadina experience a delicious and memorable one. Given the selection of sauces and other ingredients, I don’t think one could go wrong with any combination.
In addition to pasta, my dining companion had sausage, roasted onions and bell peppers, house-made pomodoro sauce, and leafy greens included in his pasta bowl and was likewise satisfied with his choices, the made-to-order quality and the freshness of the ingredients.
