Breakfast at Enoteca To Go

[Photos: Ashley Muir Bruhn]

Last month, I Trulli—an Italian restaurant focused on the cuisine of the Apulian region—opened Enoteca To Go for breakfast in the space of their wine bar, Enoteca. Pastries are set out along the counter, a menu of frittatas and sandwiches is available for order, and coffee and espresso by La Colombe is ready to take away, but we chose to make our menu selections and take a seat by the window.

The seasonal muffin ($2.75) on the day we visited was strawberry-rhubarb, and it was a knockout. The muffin broke apart to reveal ample fruit and it tasted fresh and bright. I'm looking forward to trying other flavors as the seasons change.

I wish, however, that I could recommend the Bomboloni ($4) or Zeppole ($4) as heartily: the Bomboloni was slightly dry and cakey despite a nicely aromatic vanilla cream filling and was memorable mostly for being overpriced. The Zeppole were tasty, but ultimately reminded me more of a vanilla cruller.

The Macedonia ($6) is a nice, large serving of fruit, but the "marinated fresh fruit salad" was slightly underwhelming: there was no sign of syrup or marinade and the fruit selection seemed to vary greatly in ripeness.

I was much happier with the PBT ($10), a club sandwich of pancetta, burrata and tomato. (Though how can you go wrong with creamy burrata?) The pancetta added a salty richness and some arugula added spice.

The Uova Pugliese ($7) is a classic egg sandwich--with soft, wet eggs, potatoes, and pepper. This will leave you happy and satisfied, though I would have liked there to be something more special about the combination. A bit more cracked pepper would have justified the spice being listed as the third ingredient.

The Frittata ($6) changes each day, and can be ordered cold or hot. Ours featured artichokes, asparagus, and parmesan, and was wonderfully eggy.

You can also choose to try the housemade granola with yogurt and berries ($6) or the Erbazzone ($8)—with swiss chard, eggs, cheese, and mortadella—depending on your mood.

It's a welcome option in a neighborhood dominated by Indian restaurants and expensive steakhouses, but I'll be returning first and foremost for the seasonal muffins.

Enoteca To Go

122 East 27th Street, New York NY 10016 (map) 212-481-7372
www.itrulli.com

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