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Daniela Bouneou, co-owner of Limonata, is shown with from left, a chocolate walnut tart, tomato quiche with organic berry green salad and roasted tomato soup. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal)
The key element to a properly made Italian soda is the bubbles that dance on your tongue, allowing the sweet and creamy aspects to mingle into a whole and nearly perfect beverage. When it comes to nearly perfect Italian personalities, I have a hard time imagining anyone more bubbly than Daniela Bouneou, co-owner of a diminutive cafe in Nob Hill where delicious lunch dishes are served with a side of sophistication: Limonata Italian Street Food Caffe.
Expectations were high after Cafe Giuseppe vacated the building, taking its fancy bicycle décor and highly skilled (though sometimes terse) baristas. I hoped that the ability to draw an espresso with just the right amount of brown crema would pass on from one owner to the next, and I have not been disappointed. Daniela and her husband Maxime already operate the best Italian restaurant in Albuquerque (Torinos @ Home). Start with her Italian culinary skills, add his classical French training and something wonderful blossoms in both restaurants. Limonata serves coffees, pastries, breakfast and lunch – but alas, no gelato.
Limonata’s reverence for things caffeinated includes the helpful to-go cup sizes cutely illustrated from 12 to 20 ounces with “somewhat tired,” “tired,” and “very tired,” but most patrons seem to linger over more substantial eats while they read a magazine or catch up with their companion.
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Limonata Italian Street Food Caffe LOCATION: 3222 Silver SE, 266-0607 HOURS: 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays NO ALCOHOL |
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Choosing your nosh is easy – everything is lined up in a display case, ready to have the finishing touches (or a panini press) applied. Allow yourself to be distracted by the sweets on the right side, affordable treats like bite-sized macaroons in pastel colors from pink to chocolate brown, or chocolate bark studded with fruit and nuts – both are under $2. A few dollars more will pay off with a fat chocolate walnut or almond tart. You could share these, but it will take restraint to not stab your fork at any intervening grabs from across the table.
Ah, finger food. There is no better way to have a meal while enjoying the fun of snacking than by having the Salame Platter ($10.50), a colorful spread that includes onions, olives, grapes, cherry tomatoes and bread with the imported salami. Meat-averse have the similarly constructed Cheese Platter ($13.95) for sampling; even vegans will find accommodation by asking to substitute grilled vegetables for the cheese. Two can share the bounty of an Antipasto Platter ($16.95) with three kinds of meat, cheese and all of the usual platter garnishes.
It’s true the platters are chilled and this is still the middle of winter, so bridge that gap with the best tomato soup I can recall having in Albuquerque, served with huge homemade croutons and a swirl of olive oil. This is everything tomato soup should be: a little sweet, a little salt, a little chunkiness and a big wallop of flavor. My ideal noshing meal at Limonata would consist of the tomato soup, sharing the Antipasto, and a handful of macaroons with espresso to finish.
The menu is not all nibbles, of course. A recent lunch special worth the splurge is a massive square of Meat Lasagna ($10), rustic with random slices of carrot interspersed in the ricotta and tender pasta sheets. Panini sandwiches are pressed to order, filled with cured meats and cheeses or grilled vegetables.
The cooking styles of Italian meet French in the square slices of Torta ($5.50) – a pastry-lined pie not unlike quiche. Every bite is delicious in the best flavor duo: caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes. Fork, mouth, smile.
