Al Ducci Di Notte

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  La bellezza d'Italia a Manchester, VT!
  
  I spent two semesters studying architecture in Florence, Italy, and, while there were many famous and popular places to eat in Florence, I always found myself at a tiny trattoria down the street from where I lived.  A husband and wife were the chef and hostess there, and the food was so lovingly and exquisitely prepared, and the service so gracious and sincere, that I felt like the luckiest man alive to know this tiny find.
  
  Al Ducci's di Notte left me with that same feeling the other night!  The intimacy of the ambience paired with mouth-watering dishes was just perfect!  We started out with antipasto, a fine selection of the sweet and savory delights from Al Ducci's Italian Pantry.  My following selections were mushroom soup, with all its woodsy, earthy flavors and soothing broth, followed by the Chicken Sorrentino, a moist and tender chicken breast coupled with roasted eggplant, prosciutto, all in a blanket of Al's handmade mozzarella.  The chicken was served on a bed of spinach fettuccine cooked al dente.  For dessert, I ordered a slice of the chocolate-hazelnut torte, which was beyond delicious!
  
  Chef Paul changes the menu daily, which adds to the intimacy of the experience.  I felt like I was invited to a private performance or a gallery opening, where the moment is new and unique and is only being shared with a select audience.  The plates are demonstrative of the staff's love for fresh, delicious ingredients, like an artist with a box of paints.  And maybe this is what brought me back to that trattoria in Firenze.
  
  Vermont is home to discerning foodies, and I've been blessed to taste some of the best restaurant offerings in Southern Vermont.  ADdN is certainly in that league.  What makes this place unique, though, is that it melds the old-world Italian fare with the old-world New England farm culture to create something special and new, both respectful of the past, but of the here and now.
  
  Make reservations and bring a healthy appetite!

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  Posted on 12.15.12 Mario A.

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  What a fabulous experience we had at Al Ducci di Notte!
  
  Having grown up in Providence, RI, where our own Federal Hill offers the very best Italian food, we were just delighted to find a rival authentic Italian restaurant in the middle of Manchester, Vermont!  The cozy size of the dining area may have contributed to the feeling of intimacy with the attentive wait staff, but I suspect that their warm, friendly nature was more a blend of experience and pure genuine love for what they do. Not only did the owner visit our table, but the hostess and dessert chef did, as well!  We were made to feel like special guests and were told we could stay as long as we liked.  If our group had been larger, we would have been delighted to reserve the extra long, antique farm table that our nearby guests were enjoying.  
  
  To enter the restaurant, you must walk through the adjacent Italian deli - a treat in and of itself - but that is for another review!  Parking was super easy in the free municipal lot across the street.  Reservations are definitely recommended due to the small dining room size.  
  
  As this is a new restaurant, it was BYOB pending approval of a liquor license.  As for the food - it was all fantastic.  Fresh focaccia was brought to our table to start us off.  The antipasto that we ordered was happily custom arranged in such a way that our vegetarian diner could choose from the meatless end of the platter.  Between us all, we ordered spinach and artichoke ravioli, sliced duck breast with asparagus and polenta, eggplant parmigiana, and a shrimp and mushroom risotto.  Of our party of four, not one of us had a single complaint about our meal. In fact, we each raved that our own meal choice was the best.  
  
  Although we usually resist the temptation of dessert, we couldn't pass up a choice from the offerings of mini cannolis, homemade fresh peach tart, chocolate almond tortes, italian rice pudding with currants soaked in wine, and assorted Italian cookies made with nuts and apricots.
  
  While I understand that the menus will change from week to week, I think you can be certain that no matter what is offered, it will be unique, authentic and delicious.  We definitely plan to return to this restaurant on our next trip to Vermont!

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  Posted on 09.09.12 Sally M.

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  I agree there are a few kinks to work out with this new restaurant - especially with the reservations system- you must have a reservation if you hope to get a table....but the food is for the most part outstanding. We especially love the antipasto (high quality meats, veggies, olives, petite salads, etc etc.) and home made ravioli. The cheese plate is also divine.'Hope the chef, who is very talented, continues to mind the salt- one can always add more at the table.........
  The bread is truly exceptional - made in house. We love BYOB - and they do not charge a corking fee. Lovely staff..... thanks Nancy D. and Jessica. Al Sheps (owner) is a super guy- try to meet him if he is around.
  'Would love to see some "over the top fancy" desserts - or at least House Made Gelato.

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  Posted on 09.06.12 Susan R.

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  This place has a few small kinks to work out, but the food was so good and the room so comfortably decorated that it really didn't matter. The house bread is superb. Not only is it made there, it is well flavored and has a perfect texture, what bread in a good Italian restaurant should be. The bread is served with an excellent quality virgin olive oil. My husband's lasagne was perfect, and the steamed brocolli on the side was fresh and perfectly steamed. Good vegetables are very important; the sad, tasteless or frozen vegetables sometimes served with pretty good meat dishes have made me not return to some restaurants. My linguine with mussels had a very good light tomato sauce with rich flavors and no gloppy thickeners. I wish I'd been served more of that great bread to get at the large amount of sauce that remained. BYOB, or order one of their excellent bottled bubbly drinks (mine was a citrus drink and my husband had a Reeds or equivalent ginger ale. My only gripe is that we were not offered the antipasto spread that sat in the entry area, possibly because we walked in without a reservation and they didn't want us to linger over appetizers so the table could be ready in an hour. The tables are well spaced for privacy, though there is a larger shared table which we refused. The decor is tasteful and restful, not pretentious or kitchy. We did not try the desserts, though this kind of place would probably have good ones.

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  Posted on 08.22.12 Sixty-One H.

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