First Bite: Travertine

Manuel Trevino gives us an exclusive preview of his fagotini stuffed with truffled ricotta

Like previous installments at Yerba Buena Perry Street and Marea, First Bite aims to prod, probe and dissect a dish from a restaurant opening in the near future. Consider it a much more delicious Plywood Report, with less dry wall and more dry-aging.

After more than a year of battling with Community Board 2, the infamous curse of 19 Kenmare St. might finally be lifted with the long-awaited opening of Travertine, a project from 28-year old restaurateur Danae Cappelletto. The 58-seat restaurant, occupying the gut-renovated Little Charlie’s Clam Bar, will showcase the Mediterranean cuisine of Manuel “Memo” Trevino—a “Top Chef” alum and subject in Bill Buford’s kitchen tome “Heat.”

Despite lacking ties to the boot-shaped country, Mexican-American Trevino claims to have “an old Italian soul trapped in my body.” And with a resume that includes Babbo sous chef, it’s pretty safe to assume that pasta will be a menu standout. We were given an exclusive preview of the chef’s handmade fagotini stuffed with truffled ricotta and spinach, a dish that’s hard to imagine ever invoking the dreaded “Pack your knives and go.”

By Krista Garcia, photos by Jori Klein-Jacobs