Casa Nostra

Debo reconocer que no soy una fanática de la pasta, así que cuando un amigo italiano nos propuso ir ahí, dudé, pero privilegié la compañía antes que la comida. Este lugar pertenece a italianos, así que eso nos daba la pauta de que deberíamos pasarla bien.
Al sentarnos nos dieron una canasta correcta pero no deslumbrante de pan calentito y aceitunas. Luego el mozo pasó con una pizarra a explicarnos los platos: 4 entradas, 3 platos principales con pasta y 4 platos principales sin pasta. Por lo que vi no había menúes en papel. No pedimos entrada y fuimos directo al plato principal.
No puedo recordar el nombre del plato que pedí (creo que orecchieti con una salsa de tomáte con pequeñas albóndigas), pero sí recuerdo que estuvo delicioso. Todos quedamos muy contentos con nuestros platos.
De postre pedimos una especie de tiramisu para compartir que también estaba muy rico.
Para tomar acompañamos con un spritz y agua de la jarra ofrecida por el lugar. También tienen una acotada carta de vinos.
Toda la experiencia fue muy buena y aproximadamente gastamos unos 22 euros por persona.
Volveré.

I really wanted to like this place since it’s from Puglia and cozy, but I hope you read this and make some improvements :)
First, the good… The tiramisu was not actually a triamisu, but a dessert in a martini glass. It tasted very good and the presentation was nice. The service was also pretty good.
Now, the areas of improvement…
1. It started with a basket of homemade bread. The bread was cold and parts of it were burnt and it was served without olive oil or anything. Very disappointing start.
2. We ordered two different antipasti platters and all the items were simply boring and bland. The homemade fennel rings were nice, but they are crackers. I always really look forward to antipasti, so I found this even more disappointing. We also told him we don’t eat pork and wanted to substitute, but he didn’t tell us that the zucchini had ham in it, so that’s minus one for service.
3. Then came the homemade bio orcchiette pasta with bolognese sauce. The pasta itself was good in texture, but that sauce tasted like it came out of some grocery store jar. I also asked for black pepper since there was neither salt or pepper on our table. and he brought me that generic powdery black pepper you find in a dirty diner… some fresh cracked black pepper goes a long way guys!
Overall… BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!! Where is the flavor??? I’ve been to Puglia and I know there’s potential, so I hope you can improve because this simply was not a great experience and for 52 euro for 2 people, also not the cheapest one.

Mamma Mia pizza pasta another Trattoria!
This cozy new trattoria on Ceintuurbaan replaced the South African delicacies of Cape Town Spice. (RIP) Did De Pijp just lose an African gem to be replaced by another piece of crusty ravioli? Or does the loss justify the means!!!
I walk into the trattoria almost soaking wet from riding my bike through an unexpected torrent of rainfall. As my eyes adjusted from moonlight to a predominantly candle-​lit small dining area, I take note of several wine bottles lined up along each table as if the jolly alcoholic uncles were expected to arrive soon. Removing my damp jacket, I take note of the simple decoration and the newness of having taken over an ex-​eaterie. Unraveling my scarf and placing it on the seat next to me, a friendly waiter with an unusual double cheek piercing greeted us by explaining their story.
Imagine three youths: Signor Tall, Signor Chubby and Signor Cheek Piercing. These three Italians all came from the Puglia area and eventually moved to Amsterdam; the city of crazy bikers and average Italian food. Working at a variety of Italian restaurants, these three pasta youths have experienced a rainbow of mediocre Dutch-​modified Italian food. One day, the three youths pondered why they are working at sub-​par Italian places, when they can open their own place, making all their foods from scratch just the way their mothers and grandmothers made food back in Puglia. And thus Casa Notra was born.
These three signors make everything down to the pasta from scratch and their number one priority is to fill your belly with delicious homemade food. Signor Cheek Piercing opened our bottle of Primitivo explaining that it, along with everything including the cheese, comes from Puglia. Images of Signor Tall smuggling baby head sized balls of mozzarella filled my hungry mind. Whatever food they made that day, is what you can order in addition to small tapas like plates of sides you can get for 2 euros each. After coating our empty stomachs with dark red wine, we were ready for the small plates. First came the traditional circle fried bread sticks. What these puffed ring shaped morsels of cripsiness are called escapes my mind, but I recall from my last trip to Puglia eating these everywhere I went. However, what they are called matters not as they are delicious and sure to be hastily consumed.
After this, plate after plate after plate spread virally across our table. Sliced aubergine chips with mint, the freshest most fluffy bunny tail mozzarella ever, meatballs, and more and more and more! Eventually Signor Chubby came out telling us other things they had in the back and whether we wanted to try it. From his hearty belly and large smile, we could tell that he was also a fellow food lover and we gladly accepted everything that was offered. By the end of this small plate frenzy, my friend and I had no room left for pasta!
Although our stomach capacity was approaching 120%, God created humans with a separate stomach for dessert. So we ordered the cream puffs and tiramisu while sipping on some chilled limoncello. While the cream puffs were surprisingly boring, the tiramisu was magical. Signor Chubby invited us to the bar so we could smell the various grappas from Puglia they had. One in particular had a rather interesting smell which according to my dinner companion, smelled of poppers. I thought it smelled like sweaty gym feet so naturally I had to try it. I can prudly say that I do not have a fetish for anything near or around the foot, but I thoroughly enjoyed the combination of the pungent smell and strong burning feeling as the grappa made its way down my throat. As I gathered my coat and scarf noticing my pants had completed dried, I thanked the food loving Italian entrepreneurs and biked home under the moonlight of the recently cleared up night sky.
To make a long story long, not my all-​time favorite trattoria in the history of the whole world, but if you’re in the area, I promise you will be fed like kings and enjoy your time with the three Signors.