Egg City meets the Big Apple

Argus-Courier reporter dines at Petaluma restaurant in New York City

April 27, 2005

By EMILY BRADY
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

NEW YORK CITY -- At first glance, this Italian restaurant on Manhattan's swank Upper East Side bears little relation to its West Coast namesake.

There are no egg dishes on the dinner menu at Petaluma restaurant and the mural on the restaurant's back wall portrays an idyllic scene of the Italian countryside, not of Northern Calif-ornia.

Indeed, some of the restaurant's most loy-al patrons appear vaguely unaware that the name's origins aren't Italian, but Miwok.

"What the hell's a Petaluma?!" asks Thomas, a slightly tipsy man from Brooklyn, who declines to give his last name and claims to have eaten at the restaurant at least a hundred times.

"Is it a person?" he continues. "Are you Petaluma?"

Not quite, I just work for the local paper and out of pure curiousity decided to stop by this pale green restaurant at corner of First Avenue and 73rd Street that is named after the former Egg Basket of the World.

Upon entering the roomy, family-style trattoria, it's clear to any Egg City local that they're not in Petaluma anymore -- from the mullet-sporting lounge act who croons out Abba cover tunes on a busy Friday night to the streams of yellow cabs that barrel down First Avenue.

Yet after a full meal, accompanied by few glasses of robust Sicilian red wine, similarities do appear.

The story of Petaluma restaurant began some 20 years ago, when Ann Isaak, a native Petaluman and daughter of local homeless advocate Mary Isaak, opened a restaurant in Manhattan with Orlando Fratta from Torino, Italy.

They decided to name the place after Isaak's hometown and Petaluma restaurant was born.

Over the years, it has evolved into a popular, family-style eatery where on any given night the owner estimates about 80 percent of the clientele are return customers.

In this way, in a city as big and bustling as New York, Petaluma does captures the spirit of it's namesake -- as a warm, welcoming place that embraces children and offers community to the hungry.

And while many of the restaurant's regulars may be unfamiliar with the meaning behind the funny name, Orlando Fratta knows the story.

"I always say it means 'little hills' in a Native American language," he says in an Italian accent still thick after multiple decades in America.

Though he's never been to Northern California himself, over the years many a Petaluman has come to Fratta.

Among the locals who have made the pilgrimage to his restaurant while visiting the Big Apple, he says are a former mayor and members of the police department.

To all of these people Fratta warmly extends his thanks. In fact, if you stop by for a meal and mention you're from Petaluma, he promises the dessert is on him.

And it's worth making the journey for the food alone.

The menu offers an array of Italian specialties, fresh grilled fish and meats, pasta dishes and individual pizzas baked in what Fratta claims is one of the first brick-fired ovens in New York City.

On the night I visited, after nibbling on crunchy bread and fried olives, my dinner companion and I began our meal with a palate-cleansing salad of refreshing blood orange segments, fennel, and arugula, drizzled with a nutty, high-grade olive oil.

We moved on to a small dish of creamy mushroom risotto before trying the pasta sampler, eaten Italian-style before the main course, of penne in a tangy vodka marinara, tortelinni with prosciutto and peas in a cream sauce and fettuccini with fresh prawns.

For our main course we spilt the evening's special, which in honor of Good Friday, was a generous portion of halibut, simmered with garlic, white wine and baby clams, and served with thick mashed potatoes.

Dessert -- which we barely had room for -- was panna cotta, a delicious Italian custard served with slices of fresh strawberries and dollops of sweet cream.

After finishing off our meal with sips of a golden dessert wine, we bundled up and headed out into the cold New York spring night, vowing to return to Petaluma and recommend the place to all.

So next time you're in Manhattan and hankering for some home-style Italian food, in a welcoming atmosphere, head to place with the familiar name.

And don't forget inquire after your free dessert. Just ask for Orlando.

(Contact Emily Brady at ebrady@arguscourier.com)

PETALUMA CUCINA ITALIANA

Cuisine: Northern Italian

Hours: Open daily from 12 noon to 11 p.m. for lunch and dinner. Brunch on weekends.

Ambiance: Upscale, family-style

Wheelchair-accessible? yes

Child-friendly? Yes

Prices:

Location: 1356 First Ave. at 73rd, New York City.

Phone: 212-772-8800

Takeout: You didn't come all this way to eat in your room, did you?

Reservations: Recommended

Web Site: www.petalumanyc.com