Storico Fresco is now open in Buckhead, at the corner of Andrews and Roswell Rd, in a somewhat hard to find spot behind the shops visible from the road. It’s a few doors down from Pie Shop if you know where that is.
It’s tough to be a food fan in Atlanta and not be tuned in to the amazing pastas Michael Patrick has been Eucharising us with for almost a year. Yes, it’s a fresh pasta void filled by the loss of Via Elisa, but I don’t think anyone expected the delivery of some of the finest and most pensive pastas to be found anywhere in America. I won’t do the disrespect of trying to rewrite the story, so do check out the recent Atlanta Magazine article from Christiane, or perhaps one of the other dozen glowing reviews and background articles to be found.
Anyways, with their retail shop finally opened, Storico will certainly be able to reach a broader audience, which absolutely includes increased consumption from me.
I stopped in today and bought some filled/fresh and flat/dry pastas, and asked if I could take a few photos (Michael laughed and told me Creative Loafing and Atlanta Magazine had both made recent visits.)
In addition to the Battoli (flat, dried made with chestnut and whole wheat flour), I picked up a 1# sampler of Cjalsons (raisins, figs, smoked ricotta), Pi Fassac (taleggio, grana padano, ricotta, herbs), and a custom Tortelli made for Restaurant Eugene, of which they had extras (two types of ricotta, fried leeks). In retrospect I sampled too much ricotta, but I needed veg friendly options for the wife. Last time I picked some Storico at the Farm Mobile I tried the Bertu (cotechino pork sausage, ricotta, Parm, grana padano) and they were unreal.
Tonight was so satisfying though. I cooked them in sage brown butter (Michael also provided the sage) and served along side a very simple broiled halibut. If I had to pick a favorite (hey, it’s what I do) I’d say Linton has good tastes, I really dug the contrast of the two ricotta. The beautiful and labor intensive Pi Fassac (“swaddled baby”) are a must order too. While I really enjoyed the Cjalsons, it became a little sweet after a few bites.
To say I hope Storico will succeed in their new digs is an understatement. Such a time and resource intensive process, with relatively little volume, is always as potential risk, but (soap box coming) Atlanta has been gifted a special establishment, and it should be supported as such.