Mangia, mangia!

Little Italy's Tre Marie offers true tastes of the old country

by SPANKY HOROWITZ

In the past four or five years, Italian food has taken some pretty weird twists and turns. First there was fusion: imagine squid ink tagliatelli with a raspberry-shark coulis, topped with smoked pine needles. What the hell is with that? Then, all the "chic" (read: outlandishly expensive) Italian restos had the gall to open sushi bars right inside their restaurants. I don't want raw fish with my spaghetti and meatballs. I bet those places don't even have spaghetti and meatballs!

More recently, I'm happy to have noticed that these trends were just that--they came, they saw, they left. If you forgot what Italian food was supposed to be, then slide on over to Tre Marie ("Three Maries").

First of all, it's in Little Italy. 'Nuff said right there. Secondly, it looks like Italy from the outside and the inside. Stucco up the wazoo with fake Renaissance prints of fruit bowls and Italian countrysides all over the walls. The daily menu featured many meat dishes on that first Wednesday I was there. I tried the roast beef and roast veal stew. The beef was very nice, with three generous slices served with a choice of pasta or vegetables. The veal was stewed in a tomato and red wine sauce and was so tender that I could tear the large morsels apart with my fork.

Thursday's menu was heavy on the veal: roast veal with vegetables in a white wine sauce, breaded and fried veal cutlet, veal tripe with beans and tomato sauce, and Venetian-style veal liver with onions. I guess Thursday is veal night. Because I had veal the previous night, I tried what many would never order because they are always looking for something more exotic: the "spaghetti and meatball" ($10).

My plate arrived promptly, and it was "meatball" indeed. I was slightly disappointed at the number of meatballs on my plate--one. As it turned out, one was all I needed. This meatball was so rich (with veal--what else is new--and cheese) that it lasted the whole meal. There's no better way to describe "al dente" than with the spaghetti at Tre Marie; it is perfect.

The trio pasta was something to behold. I try not to be too gluttonous these days, but having three kinds of pasta on one plate is not something you can easily accomplish at home. My plate was dominated by two large medallions of pasta stuffed with meat, measuring about four inches in diameter each. The ravioli was stuffed with ricotta cheese and herbs and was served in a rosé sauce. The third pasta, which was spiral-shaped, had no meat and no cheese, but was certainly not lacking in substance. Each piece of noodle seemed as though it had begun as a piece of fettuccine, but was then wrapped around the shaft of a pencil. Once dried into place and the pencil removed, the spirals were then ready to properly cling to the olive oil and garlic emulsion that was surrounding their curvy forms. On top of this was a mélange of red pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, shallots, and parsley. Mmmm.

The absolute best part of this meal was wiping up the remnants of three different sauces with pieces of spongy Italian bread. Never were dregs so desirable. It was like cleaning up an Italian buffet. With your tongue.

Tre Marie

Address: 6934 Clark

Telephone: 277-9859

Hours: Tue-Wed 11:30am-10pm; Thurs-Fri 11:30am-11pm; Sat 5-11pm; Sun 12-9pm, closed Mondays

Best Features: truly rustic Italian food at decent prices. Sorry, no sushi

Vegetarian friendly: yes

Wheelchair access: yes

Alcohol: yes

Credit cards: yes

Price: $10-25 per person, before drinks, taxes and tip

Rating: HHH out of HHHH