Pancuito loves the summer, the summer loves Panciuto

Aaron Vandemark, the chef/proprietor of Panciuto, is one of my favorite chefs and runs one of my favorite restaurants.  As good as this place is all the time, though, in the summer it becomes even better, as we learned at dinner earlier tonight. 

Every single dish was fantastic.  We sampled all three sides--twice-fried broccoli, marinated tomatoes and cucumbers, and grilled carrots--and they were more delicious than vegetables have any right being.  My starter, a crispy fried softshell crab with soft scrambled eggs and asparagus, delighted with every bite.  The only flaw I could find with my main, a grilled heritage pork chop with yellow zucchini risotto, is that it was simply too big for me to finish--and that's a flaw I love, because it makes a fine leftover.

I sampled both strawberry desserts, one a warm strawberry-almond cake, and the other a strawberry panna cotta, and they were superb.

I've raved about Panciuto before, and I expect to do so again, but if you want to catch it at its peak, go this summer.