Authentic Italian in Aliso Viejo?

 Trattoria Trullo 

26611 Aliso Creek Road Suite C 

Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

Traditional Italian food is a challenging sell in the US. I have never been to Italy, but I've watched enough TV shows about restaurants and talked to many people who have been there. From what I've seen on television and from people who have visited the boot-shaped nation, Italian food differs from what we have on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Most of us grew up eating Italian food with heavy red sauce, lots of cheese, and heaping portions on our plates. This is not the case with authentic Italian food. I don't want to debate authentic versus US Italian cuisine; there's room for both, and I enjoy both. Traditional Italian is lighter than its American counterpart, made with higher-quality ingredients, and serving sizes are noticeably smaller. 

The days of Olive Garden and The Old Spaghetti Factory, which were the only games in town, are over. OC is now home to many authentic Italian restaurants: Bello by Sandro Nardone, Il Fornaio, Ciao Pasta, and my favorite, Oliver's Osteria, in Laguna Beach. Keep reading to see if we can add another to the list, Trattoria Trullo in Aliso Viejo. 

More than ten years ago, Aliso Viejo was a restaurant wasteland, with mediocre restaurants and overpriced chain restaurants dotting almost every shopping plaza. The restaurant landscape has slowly changed in recent years with the additions of Webb's Grainworks, Tacos de Birria Estilo Guadalajara, Chuponcito, and Trattoria Trullo, which opened in January in the always-hopping Aliso Viejo Town Center. 

Trattoria Trullo comes to us from Chef and Owner Marco Criscuolo. If his name sounds familiar, you must have been a regular at Andrea Restaurant or other eateries at the Pelican Hill Resort, where he worked for six years. A native of Puglia, Italy, Chef Marco started culinary school at the age of fifteen and, five years later, was working for the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. After a stint on the East Coast, he returned to OC and found a home for his first restaurant in Aliso Viejo. 

Don't expect to see chicken parmesan, fettuccine alfredo, spaghetti with meatballs, or carbonara on the menu at Trattoria Trullo. This is real-deal Italian food. Their online menu lists ten starters, six pasta dishes, and four more substantial entrees. Starters range between $8 and $28, pasta dishes go for $22 to $42, and the four entree selections range between $32 and $44. They also have a scaled-down lunch menu that features three sandwiches and other options. They are open for lunch every day except Mondays. Let's see our experience with real-deal Italian food from Trattoria Trullo. 

At first glance, this Focaccia Pugliese ($9) reminded me of the bread at Macaroni Grill, but after my first taste, I realized that this was way better than what passes for focaccia at that popular chain spot. The outside had a crunch, and the inside was pillowy and airy. It was a light-tasting bread that did not need the oil and vinegar flowing so freely at Macaroni Grill. However, we got the optional Burrata ($9) and the Basil Ricotta with Crushed Pistachio ($5). The burrata was the real deal; it was rich and milky, but I was more fond of the basil ricotta. I liked the flavor of the basil mingling with the ricotta and the texture of the crushed pistachios. Very well done, and it is hard to limit yourself to just one loaf.

For the entree portion of our meal, my cousin Jenny's selection is the Branzino ($35). This grilled Mediterranean sea bass won rave reviews from Jenny and me after she graciously shared a bite with me. The grill marks were aesthetically pleasing, and the crispy skin complemented the light and flaky fish underneath. It had a very mild flavor, which allowed the caramelized lemon to be the predominant flavor profile. This was paired with an artichoke ragout, which I did not get to try. This will be the next thing I try on my next visit to Trattoria Trullo. 

I'm not sure who ordered this Orecchettie alla Cime de Rapa ($26), but its vibrant green hue from across the table was visually stunning. The ear-shaped pasta was coated with a rarely-seen broccoli rabe sauce and accompanied by sausage, pecorino cheese, and breadcrumbs. A very comforting yet light dish, this is another that will soon find itself sitting in front of me at Trattoria Trullo. 

Dish number three was the Paccheri Mari E Monti ($30), which is not on their online menu now, and there are no pictures of it on their Yelp page either. They may rotate items depending on what's available. This sea and mountains dish consists of shrimp (sea), mushrooms (mountains), large tube pasta, pancetta, and provola cheese. 

Katie is always drawn to any bolognese on a menu, so she would consume the Rigatoni alla Bolognese ($24) this evening. All of their pasta is made in-house in their pasta lab daily. The fresh pasta has a very pleasing, chewy feel to it. The bolognese comprises the holy trinity of meats; beef, pork, and veal. The sauce portion was not as heavy as others, so you could taste the meat more clearly. As you can see from the picture, Katie loves parmesan cheese and had more than her fair share. Save some for the rest of us, Katie.

The most recognizable dish on this menu, which most people are familiar with, is their Lasagna Classica ($24). It's made with the same bolognese sauce that Katie had, but they also incorporate bechamel into the mix. I'm always a big fan of bechamel, as it's one of my favorite sauces. This lasagna did not use too much cheese, and I liked that the outer edges of the lasagna noodles got crispy. It's a very refined version of a quintessential Italian dish.  

My aunt Hiroko is a big seafood fan and seemed very happy with this Linguine alle Vongole ($24). The fresh clams paired nicely with a simple white wine sauce and linguine. It is very traditional in its preparation. 

Last but not least, I ordered last and had several items to try on my wishlist at Trattoria Trullo, so I picked something that nobody else had gotten: the Veal Osso Buco ($48). This ten-ounce braised veal shank was tender and comforting as I ate it. It was very tender and one of the best I have had in OC. An added bonus was the bone, with the bone marrow still inside. Deliciously decadent. The polenta was well done, but the baby spinach got lost with the overabundance of the Barolo sauce. This is easily the most substantial plate here. 

We were going across the way for some ice cream after dinner, but they were kind enough to bring out this Torta Pasticiotto ($12) for us to share. Coming from the Puglia region of Italy, I'd describe this as a very light chocolate pie. The double crust was light and flaky, and the chocolate inside was creamy but not as rich as it looked in the photo above. 

After our visit to Trattoria Trullo, I worried about this restaurant. It's not because the food was awful; it was terrific and definitely in my top three authentic OC Italian restaurants. It wasn't because the service was terrible either, as our server, Jordan, was fantastic, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu. My worry for Trattoria Trullo is that people of OC might not get authentic Italian cuisine, where the portion sizes are smaller, the items on the menu might not be as recognizable to them, and they may perceive the price point as being too high, even though they are serving food with high-quality ingredients. Even though I'd consider this travel-worthy Italian, I feel it would be a challenge to get people from, let's say, Newport to drive down to Aliso Viejo for dinner.  I hope I'm wrong and they have great success for years to come. Hopefully, Reading this review will urge you to make the short trip to Aliso Viejo. 

Out of five beach umbrellas (because Chef Marco is from the Puglia region of Italy, which boasts the most coastline of any mainland Italian region, hence the need for plenty of beach umbrellas), five being best to zero being worst, Trattoria Trullo gets 3.5 beach umbrellas.  

For more information about Trattoria Trullo, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.trattoriatrullo.com/