Promise me pizza (or almost anything else) cooked in a wood burning oven and I’m there.
When Lolita’s opened in the former Crave space with a shiny new wood-burning oven, producing pizzas and pasta, we needed to check it out.
In nice weather you have your choice of a secluded terrace under the Walkway Bridge, lined with plants, or the lively dining room.
After joking about the pea appetizer (Janet loves peas, me not so much) we decided on the cucumbers with ricotta salata, mint and basil, in a spicy vinaigrette. The cucumbers were great with the ricotta and the bread crumbs added a nice crunch. It was a refreshing way to start dinner on a hot summer night.
Speaking of refreshing, they offer a nice but simple selection of libations. The craft cocktail menu is small and creative, beers are mostly local, and their wines are offered by the glass, carafe or bottle. Janet ordered the Rhuby Sipper which is made with gin, strawberry-rhubarb syrup, Fever Tree Tonic and topped with a big sprig of rosemary. It was fruity but not too sweet and the rosemary added the perfect touch.
Choosing a pizza was not an easy task. From the menu, we thought about the simple Margherita, the broccoli which is topped with broccoli pesto, ricotta, Parmesan, pistachios and red onion, or the mushroom pie with Taleggio, Fontina, mushroom, Parmesan and chives.
We decided to go for the special pie that night, a white pie with clams. For some (unknown) reason, I thought there would be clams in the shell on the pizza, but the clams had already been shucked and were carefully placed on the pie. The creamy white sauce must have had some clam juice in it, because you got a good hit of clam with the lemony sauce. The crust was good—could have been a bit more charred for me, but I like all my bread on the almost burnt side.
Deciding on which pasta to share was also a challenge. The bucatini Amatrician with tomato, pork shoulder, pancetta and guanciale sounded good, as well as the agnolotti tossed with pork & pancetta, mushrooms and peas. We decided to go with our server’s recommendation, the lumache with a spicy tomato sauce with chiles and bread crumbs. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce had a nice, but not overwhelming spice to it. We almost finished it.
By this time we were full, but in the interest of research, we split a dessert, chocolate pudding with caramelized banana ice, candied peanuts and banana powder. We were each just going to take a taste but before we knew it was gone. Oh well, summer is no time for a diet.
129 Washington Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(845) 452-8100
