A Tribe Called Tribus - Tribus Restaurant, Pozzuoli (Na)

from left to right, Frattini, Marra, and Postiglione

Giuseppe, Simone, and Enzo.  Three young  chefs, who, after working in various top restaurants in Italy and Europe, decided to come back to their roots.  Their Campanian roots and form a sort of tribe. 

 

A tribe in which Giuseppe (Postiglione), Simone (Frattini) and Enzo (Marra), who have been friends for years,  could create a space which -first of all, combined their idea of a restaurant and secondly, share that idea with clients in their new new location in Pozzuoli, just outside of Naples.

So the  tribe named their new adventure Tribus Restaurant.  Tribus- Latin for tribe, three, and, well whatever else you may want to read into it.  The tribe called Tribus has placed those diners who would like an experience in 1, 2, 3 ways.

 1 - Cocktails-  a friendzone perfect for those who want to have a cocktail during happy hour, before the restaurant opens for dinner.  It has become, the chefs confessed, also a popular place for selfies and Instagram pics...

2 - Aperitifs - surely with that cocktail there are those who would love to go for an aperitif.  and why not.  The tribe served me up three which could be enjoyed inside their spacious dining room or outside on their patio.

Salmon rice chips, a caprese ravioli with nobu sauce, brioche bread with creamy butter, raisins and pine nuts with cetara anchovy and lemon zest, and crackers with tuna tartare, ricotta mousse and onion in agro-dolce sauce.

3 - Dining experience -  dinner 6 days a week, or lunch on the weekends.  I chose dinner, on a Tuesday.  Check it out.

Appetizers -

Citrus marinated mackerel and stewed eggplant.

Pezzogna carpaccio with oyster sauce.

Cuttlefish, cooked at low temperature, with fennel, walnuts and nobu sauce.  

Bread basket with homemade sourdough bread and foccaccie. 

Cod in panko crust with lime mayonnaise.

Stuffed anchovy with dried tomato and provolone.

Scarole calzone with mozzarella fondue and sweet and sour sauce.

The first course of lemon risotto with bottarga and katsuobushi starred lemons from Postiglione's father's lemon grove in Pianura.

Two second courses.  First a taste of the tribe's tuna belly with ponzu sauce and black summer truffle...

Then seared snapper with capers, potatoes and lemon.

Dessert - One again, I tried 2.  The tribe must have heard about my peanut butter addictions so,...

Peanut and caramel with brownie and creamy milk chocolate.

Then to finish up on a light note ...

Millefoglie pastry with yellow cream and black cherry.

There is one thing that the photos can not show you.  The enthusiasm and the spirit of the place.  How the tribe of Postiglione, Frattini and Marra worked over the last 18 months or so to open up their children dream.  A dream that was placed on hold or diverted at least three times.  But for these guys, three is a magic number. They are building up a clientele - they have plans to renovate their outdoor dining space - they are continuously fine tuning their menu.

I am looking forward to going back- for a cocktail, or aperitif, or another dining experience...

Oh,  and maybe take a picture on the Tribus swing. :-)

 

Roberto, Fai Tu - Chef Roberto Ardolino, Tquadro Food and Cocktails, Marigliano (Na)

Chef Roberto Ardolino

 Last April, April 27th to be exact, I shot out a DM to Roberto Ardolino to wish him a happy birthday and ask him what he had been up to lately.  It was in that chat that I learned that Ardolino,  an integral past of Taverna Estia's kitchen brigade for the last 7 years was ready to launch. Ardolino, sous chef for the 2 Michelin Stared restaurant in Brusciano was ready to take that first step out on his own at the young age of 29.  Destination?  His hometown of  Margliano near Naples - to T Quadro.  

 

Un luogo dove regna la sperimentazione. Una cucina di ricerca, cocktail di gusto. Un posto speciale dove sentirsi a casa.

A place where experimentation reigns. A cuisine based on research, tasteful cocktails. A special place to feel at home.

So I drove out last week to visit Chef Ardolino in his new space and try out - for the first time - his new menu.

Roberto, fai tu...

Aperitif..

Stockfish camouflage with provola fondue, olive powder, confit tomato, fried caper and oregano

Saffron tapioca chips ... Fassona beef tartare and lemon mayonnaise.

Ardolino's fried oyster, soy ginger and chive flowers

Tquadro's gin cocktail...

Ardolino's crispy shrimp with black cherry mayonnaise and fried seaweed.

Tquadro has a tasting menu, so of course I went for that, beginning with the appetizers...

Smoked salmon tagliatelle with chamomile, roasted shrimp head oil, almond soup and salmon roe

Next...

Triglia di scoglio... which is Ardolino's red mullet stuffed with the ingredients found in the popular Campania escarole pizza. - escarole, a provola fondue and olive powder.

Then...

Eggplant parmigiana - creamy basil and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese , roasted tomato reduction, Datterino confit and tomato powder.

Ardolino then sent out not 1, not 2, but 3 first course dishes...

beginning with cold button pasta stuffed with basil, red fruit tomato gazpacho and vodka, flamed sea bass and basil oil.

Fagottino pasta stuffed with sea bream and lime, confit tomatoes and basil.

Spaghettone alla nerano with buffalo stracciatella, basil oil and Mazara prawns.

Ardolino and I decided that it was time to move on to the second course...just 1 ( I confessed to the chef that I didn't have much space left!)

Citrus marinated sea bream, razor clams and saffron cream, seaweed powder and roasted sconcigli.

Predessert-

Porn star martini sorbet and chocolate rock...

Then the chef, Roberto, finished my first evening at Tquadro with one some of my favorite flavors combined in...well, ice cream.

peanut magnum ice cream with Negroni insert and salted caramel glazed in dark chocolate and salted peanuts.

It is never easy to launch...to make your own place at the pass for the first time.  Ardolino, who will be joined at the end of the summer by his brother, Giuseppe, has given his hometown ...

   Un luogo dove regna la sperimentazione. Una cucina di ricerca, cocktail di gusto. Un posto speciale dove sentirsi a casa.

A place where experimentation reigns. A cuisine based on research, tasteful cocktails. A special place to feel at home.

Buon lavoro, Roberto!