April 21, 2008
By: Ken Alan
kalan@aroundphilly.com
It’s hard to believe but you can sometimes gauge the greatness of a restaurant based solely on the bread. It’s in this moment, served sliced and plated or wrapped in a tight bundle with a plate of olive oil on the side, that you get a glimpse of what’s to come.
From the Boot, the simple ristorante and pizzeria tucked within a strip center in upscale Lafayette Hill, is one of these kinds of places. The house-made rolls have an almost cult-like following here. They arrive at your table served hot in baskets, their oily outer crusts dusty with Reggiano and big flecks of basil. Rolls start the meal by tempting hardcore addiction, but try to temper your enjoyment of them – there’s much more goodness to come.
The meaning of the restaurant’s name is obvious. If you go, then delicious fare is what you’ll get, like it’s coming straight from Italy’s big buccaneer’s boot. The name though also gives description to its interior. Cozy and rustic, with wood flooring and warm tawny-painted walls, From the Boot’s secondary aesthetic is the various kinds of maps of Italy lining the walls. Secondary, I’ll add, because its primary decorative touch is garlic. It’s pores will seethe from it; your clothes will soak it up.
The two partners, Nick Chiffone and Bob Devine, have been best goombah’s since grade school. They grew up in Lafayette Hill, then went separate ways (Nick split to Florida while Bob lived in New York City) before linking back up to open From the Boot in their hometown.
Besides those heavenly garlic rolls, the Boot offers an all-day menu that has something for every appetite. Salads are lush and large: the Caesar has from-scratch dressing, the grilled tuna salad is made with real fish that gets disassembled in-store that morning, and antipasto is a natural, bountiful offering.
There is belly-filling steak sandwiches served on Conshohocken Bakery long rolls (the good stuff) as are their bulging hoagies. Pastas items are vast as are gourmet pizzas, calzones and stromboli.
These items are popular during lunchtime, while veal, chicken and seafood entrees take center stage at dinner.
Indeed, From the Boot goes from being a hearty daytime stopover for everyone from the corporate set to burly blue-collar guys, to families and wine-toting couples at night. Its interior could easily be mistaken for a Bella Vista storefront trattoria, or maybe one along Castor Avenue in the Northeast – a very neighborhood place.
As my editor can tell you, I stalled in getting her copy about this restaurant till I could go back enough times to really sample the filling dishes to be had here. Translation: I couldn’t get enough Boot.
The pasta fagioli soup reminds me of the Sunday afternoons when my Italian grandmother-in-law would serve that steaming bowl of comfort. Calamari salad has big, rough-cut pieces of diced carrot and celery beneath giant tender ringlets that are lightly grilled though could stand to have a touch more char.
Fettuccini nicola has grilled chicken, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes and gorgonzola cream. Meatballs are whoppers, seasoned perfectly and able to hold up a stuck-in fork. And veal picata, two cutlets with a pleasantly thick lemon wine sauce, are studded with the green of many capers. A tasty steak sandwich and a pizza of BBQ chicken, caramelized onions, Gouda and mozzarella cheese from an earlier lunch there were no less memorable.
All the desserts are made in-house, an all-Italian assortment of tiramisu, chocolate gelato and cannolis. Costs are as palatable as the portions with nothing over $20 on the extensive menu of homey Italian favorites.
So now that I’ve told you what you should know about From the Boot, here’s what you should be aware of as well. The restaurant is low on square footage and high on foot traffic; a no-reservations policy is in effect, so go early and be prepared to wait. It’s not uncommon for a 45 to 75-minute time lag, especially Friday through Sundays. They open at four o’clock for dinner so consider being an early bird.
But while I’m hardly a fan of standing on line for my table, the simple yet consistent Italian-American fare, maybe washed down with a nice bottle with family or friends, is well worth my time. It’s one of the few like-South-Philly experiences in Montgomery County.
