Although osso bucco is traditionally served with risotto, Alto Basso serves it with tender little potato gnocchi and fresh leaf spinach. F or sensuous excess, however, it would be hard to beat bue con aragosta. Used silverware is replaced before we realize it's needed. The waitress presents it neatly wrapped in a starched napkin. We just know the sprig of rosemary in the cruet of extra virgin olive oil is fresh.
Butter comes in a china crock.
T he waitress tells us that Alto Basso makes the best tira mi su in New Haven. A bold boast for a restaurant in the heart of Little Italy. Still, I order it and find the claim has merit. Probably because so many travesties have been served in the name of tira mi su, this classic preparation is a delight. Alto Basso makes it with two layers of plain sponge cake and a layer soaked in espresso and Marsala, laced with mascarpone and allowed to rest long enough for the flavors to intermingle and the texture to become uniformly moist and light.