On a recent trip to Rome, Italy, I had the immense pleasure of dining at TORDOMATTO in its low key neutral-toned dining room with midcentury design touches. Weird name and amazing molecular gastronomie. The star of the show was something called “Blue Deep Inside,” which was essentially delicious raw seafood arranged in a ring-shape with a pale bluish brine poured over the seafood by the waiter right immediately prior to consumption. The sweet shrimp and langoustine were the standouts of the dish. While the food looked precious, it also tasted unique and delicious almost 100% across the board. Moreover, through his clever savory bon bons that comprised the “svojature” selection on the menu, the chef made a witty commentary on the nature of perception and stimulation. One of the tasting menu choices is actually labeled “ConFusion”, which seems indicate of the chef’s attitude toward food—in a playful manner the chef wants to evoke confusion of the eyes and tongue. Some of the dishes were intended to look like a sweet chocolate truffle, but actually consisted of savory morsel of chicken liver mousse, or look like a cappuccino, but actually consist of a frothy, whipped up bite of cod. There is a sophistication in the food of the chef Adriano Baldassarre that is unusual and is what likely earned the restaurant its Michelin star. I enjoyed the wine pairing immensely, in particular the Weingut Niklas Sudtirol Kalterersee Auslese Klassico, which is 100% vernatsch. Vernatsch is also called Trollinger and is a red German and Italian variety. Tordomatto is definitely worth the expense. I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.
