Review: Talina Italian in Babylon
A bowl of strozzapreti gratinato and insalata malatesta at Talina in Babylon. Credit: Megan Schlow
There’s regional Italian and then there’s Talina Osteria Romagnola, opened last year in Babylon Village and focused almost entirely on the food and wines of Romagna, the southeastern portion of Emilia-Romagna on Italy's Adriatic coast. The impossibly cozy spot, formerly Molto Pizza, is all exposed brick and farmhouse wood, brightened with Romagna’s distinctive textiles and, suspended from the ceiling, rolling pins of the type that partner Pietro Faetanini's late nonna, Talina, would have used to make pasta.
Talina
Range of entrees: $27-$46
Handicapped accessibility: No stairs
Attributes: Good for date night, Celebrations
Reservations: Necessary
376 Deer Park Rd., Babylon
Faetanini runs the front of the house while his wife, chef Brittany Middlemiss, aces her succinct menu. Here’s the place to try the great Romagnola flatbread piadina, stuffed with a selection of salumi and cheese, or bresaola, air-cured beef served here with stracchino cheese (what’s inside burrata).
The impossibly cozy dining room at Talina. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
Can’t-miss pastas include strozzapreti (twists whose name translates to "strangle the priest") with sausage ragù and breadcrumbs. There are spinach-ricotta-filled ravioli and a majestic pile of tender tagliatelle with beef-pork ragù and peas. After your pasta, you have a choice of grilled, skewered shrimp or a board (small, medium or large) featuring a mixed grill: sausage, lamb chops, pork ribs plus vegetables and warm piadine. Desserts include red-wine-soaked pears and a chocolate espresso mousse.
Credit: Megan Schlow
Notable dishes
Piadina Romagnola, strozzapreti gratinati, tagliatelle ragù e piselli, grigliata mista
Tip:
The menu here changes with the seasons and you’d be wise to check the specials lest you miss a summer tagliolini with basil-arugula pesto or a warming winter bowl of fasul alla Faetanini, beans braised with pancetta and rosemary.
Faetanini, a veteran mixologist, makes Talina’s bar another center of gravity, smoking drinks, crafting syrups and importing an impressive range of Italian amari (bitters) and lesser-known wines. You could just drop in for drinks — but you’d be nuts not to order at least a bowl of pasta.
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