August 20, 2004

Trattoria Stella: A star from the start
Traverse City's hot, new restaurant, Trattoria Stella, bills itself modestly as "a neighborhood restaurant and bar," but from what we've seen, that might be like calling Puccini an "Italian songwriter." Stella is the most interesting and promising new restaurant in years in a town that's always hungry for a new place to go.

In case you've spent the entire summer confined to the beach with houseguests, it's an Italian restaurant that opened mid-July in the old State Hospital. It's part of the restoration of Building 50 into a commercial-residential complex, and the ancient cellar's yellow-brick walls and graceful arches lend an air of intimacy, romance and history. Whoever first envisioned it as a hip restaurant deserves a medal for imagination. The proprietors, Paul and Amanda Danielson, deserve another for bringing it to reality, while providing unusually good food and service in the bargain.

During their first week, we dropped in after a book-signing at Borders, and the place was so busy at 9 p.m., we just sat at the spacious lounge bar and ordered a glass of wine and couple of appetizers. We had a Bibb salad tossed with apple and fennel slices and dressed with toasted-almond vinaigrette, and a bruschetta with a generous and rewarding array of toasted crostini, shaved garlic, chunks of marinated tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves. Both dishes were so good, we were disappointed not to find them on the menu the next time we went. But the Danielsons and chef Myles Anton are committed to a decidedly old-world operation that offers a new menu each day. Anton puts a nice, Italian twist on the best of what's available, and the Danielsons have assembled a staff that makes teamwork look easy.

On our second visit we had a proper dinner, starting with a bottle of the robust California Zinfandel we'd enjoyed on our first sit-down in the bar. After enjoying it with some of Stella's pillowy focaccia, we shared a Caesar salad so richly flavored that even it went quite well with the wine. Then  came half a dozen marinated shrimp on skewers, served on a roasted-tomato sauce that was thick with crunchy fennel.

Tempted as we were by a main dish of grilled salmon with a honey-mustard glaze with polenta and baby squash, we passed it by when we remembered we'd be grilling salmon ourselves in a few days for houseguests. We also liked the sound of grilled pork loin with Calabrese sausage and buttered orechiette, but we decided to save that for a cold November evening.

We fell back, instead, on two things we go to Italian restaurants for -- pizza and pasta -- and they made a meal to remember (especially with that Zinfandel). Sherri picked a dish of Fontina cheese and porcini raviolis tossed with red peppers, crimini mushrooms and wilted baby spinach leaves. It was dizzy with flavors. She thought the raviolis too chewy, but that was a characteristic Graydon liked. He chose a classic "red" pizza that was topped with roasted-tomato sauce, crisp pancetta, pepperoni and mozzarella. Ample as a main dish at 9 inches or so, it could easily be an appetizer for a whole table, and its crisp, flaky crust left us sufficient appetite for a creamy lemon-tart dessert that came with a crisp lemon tuile.

The Danielsons' notion of Stella as a "neighborhood restaurant and bar" really hit home when we discovered that our server was Cindy Hale, an acquaintance to whom we'd once served dinner in our home. There was a friendly, neighborhood quality about the check, too: Our meal for two of appetizer, salad, pizza and pasta came to $47. The wine, from mid-range in an extensive, Italian-accented list, added $29. In general, Stella's main dishes run in the mid-$20 range, pastas about $16, and salads and appetizers from $7 (up to $10 for a bowl of mussels steamed in a white wine sauce).

Aside from food that already seems to have the whole town raving, Stella has that charming old-world, cellar atmosphere. The central lounge-bar and main rooms are alive with convivial conversation, while vaulted alcoves along a side corridor provide seclusion and privacy for serious romantics. It's just what a neighborhood spot should be: You can dress up or down; you can go for dinner with the girls--or the guys. It works after work as well as for lunch in the middle of a shopping trip. You'll be as comfortable there with an important out of town customer as with the family and kids. 

Okay. Now that we agree that it's a great neighborhood restaurant and bar, all we have to do is find out how big the neighborhood is. Manistee to Mackinac would be our guess.

DATA: Trattoria Stella, 1200 W. 11^th St., Traverse City; 231-929-8989. Lunch & dinner. Reservations accepted only for groups of 8 or more.