Trattoria Acqua

sweetened it up and they pureed it just till finely chunky. This was the best humus we
had ever tasted and would have made a satisfying meal in itself. It was so good that
we paid for an order of it to take with us to enjoy again later that same night. Our first
order off the menu was the Insalata all Endive which was an excellent salad of Belgian
endive, radicchio, grilled pears, gorgonzola cheese, caramelized walnuts and a
Champagne vinaigrette. The nuts were sugar crisp and the dressing so light. Next we
had the Cozze alla Birra, Mediterranean seedling mussels steamed with Karl Strauss
Amber Lager, Italian bacon, shallots, red chili flakes and topped with fresh tomatoes
and Sonoma goat cheese, these were incredibly outstanding. Mussels are a hit or miss
thing, sometimes they can be chewy if they aren't fresh or the mussel is too mature
and other times they can have a bit of a livery taste, and no matter how beautiful a
bowl of those shells look the meat can still be a bit intimidating to me. These were
unreal, the mussels were so tender we barely had to chew and the silky texture of the
goat cheese paired with the freshness of the tomatoes was unforgettable. We then
decided upon a pasta dish, the Ravioli di Zucca, a butternut squash ravioli with toasted
walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and sage butter sauce, you can order this in an appetizer
portion or a full entree. The pasta was homemade and tender, the filling sweet, the
garnish of fried sage and the sauce again perfectly complimented the dish. By now we
would have liked to try so much more, but we're feeling so satisfied that we decided to
go in a direction that we never have room for, and ordered a dessert and a couple of
coffee drinks. I am personally not too hip on sweets, crazy as that may sound, but
their Tartufo all'Aranciu a dessert of bittersweet chocolate truffle with an orange confit
sauce, assorted berries and whipped cream finally made me realize what chocoholics
can only dream about. It was so smooth, deep and rich that I couldn't just taste it I
had to soak in every spoonful, and I won't ever forget how good chocolate can be. It's
safe to now say that this is our favorite Italian restaurant, if not one of our all-time
favorite restaurants. We are tempted to plan our whole birthday weekend this year
around an opportunity to dine here again. In any case, it's worth the three hour round
trip drive!

Located at 1298 Prospect in La Jolla.

Telephone (858) 454-0709

Website: www.trattoriaacqua.com

We are in awe of this place, from the restaurant itself
to the food which is near perfect, and for now,
occupies our thoughts where food is concerned. We
came upon Acqua on a walk we were taking along the
ocean. We were delighted with the Mediterranean
feel, the full ocean views, the french windows and
doors that welcome the ocean breezes. The
restaurant is sprawling, unraveling to reveal many
diverse rooms that succeed in making you feel a world
away. Although we had wanted to sit in the room with
the breathtaking panoramic ocean view, it was full
when we came here for lunch. Instead we were
seated in another part of the restaurant with our table
set in front of a large french window overlooking the
ocean, that once they opened, left us feeling content.
The menu was tempting and the food spectacular!
Everything we ordered couldn't be done better. We
couldn't help staring at each other in disbelief as we
savored every bite of each course we had struggled to
decide upon. Another thing about this restaurant that
is so perfect for us is that outside of their appetizers
they also offer appetizer portions of their pasta dishes
enabling us to sample so many different things. After
settling in and getting our drinks they served us a
complimentary basket of sliced Tuscan bread with a
bowl of freshly made Curried Humus. The curry