Etto

Via Costantinopoli 103, Naples, Italy, 80138

I asked the host at the hotel where to grab a tasty lunch before leaving Naples that day. He suggested Etto next door. But quickly caught himself suggesting a tasty restaurant to an American that was probably looking for pasta, meatballs, or Pizza. So he quickly clarified his recommendation and stated Etto wouldn't be serving traditionally Italian (touristy, my word not his) food.

Being the highly evolved person that I am, I say that tongue in cheek for those of you who don't know me (yet), I took his initial recommendation to headed over to Etto.

I ordered "Nutriente," which translates to Nutritious in English.

The google translate search on that was very anticlimactic.

It was a trio of rice, pulled pork with sweet paprika, chopped hazelnuts, fermented red pickled vegetables with sunflower seeds, spinach with lentils and tomato confit, and roasted carrots with cumin.

The dish was delicious! The ingredients were wonderfully composed. The pork was tender and juicy, the rice was the perfect texture, and the fermented vegetables gave the dish a little punch. What did it for me was the uniqueness of the dish and the overall execution. It takes talent to bring so many different components together and have them work perfectly well together. Each part of that dish would have been prepared separately as individual component and then plated together for for the final dish. That takes forethought, time, energy, effort, skill, dedication, care, and passion. I respect all that.

A few notes about the atmosphere before I leave. I ate outside and was able to continue to people watch on a beautiful September afternoon, which was very enjoyable. However, the atmosphere inside looked gorgeous. Maybe I'll sit inside when return.