Mystico Cucina Italiano

Stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon.  Peer down and see the body and wings of a bird down, down, down, way down in the canyon.  Hear a droning sound and realize--wait--that bird down there is…actually…a plane.  And if that’s a plane, the Grand Canyon is vast, almost beyond comprehension.

 

Stand overlooking Niagara Falls, feel the mist and the majestical pulse and throb of water overpowering the landscape.

 

For some things, photos, videos and words don’t capture their  full beauty. You have to be there to truly experience it.

 

Mystico Cucina Italiano in Manchester Center, Vermont may not be the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, but it has me reaching for the comparison. 

 

Let me take you through our experience.  

 

My friend Loree--herself a distinguished cook--and I visited Mystico on a packed Tuesday evening.  Inside, twinkling lights above cast a golden glow, reflected off the darkening windows.  Our cocktails signaled a special night.  I ordered Mystico’s flagship cocktail, Ghost Story, its take on an Old 

Fashioned with house infused bourbon and other special ingredients, topped off with rosemary smoke, which seeped out in ghostly splendor  at our table.  Loree had an Herb and Ember--mescal (ok-- “olive oil washed banhez mescal”) with apricot liquor and hints of basil and lemon: delicious!

 

Servers Raymond and then Erica  appear at our table.  “I drive the car, but you need to tell me where to go,” says Erica, when asked to describe what she does. True, under her care, I felt  chauffeured and pampered, but she was more like an actress performing the menu so enticingly that I turned to Loree and said, “let’s have one of each.”  Raymond said he strives to balance being invisible and present, giving the level of service each table wants.  Since Loree and I had questions, they were happy to explain, and as the evening unfolded we could see them at other tables, nodding, explaining and softly setting the room abuzz.  In short, whatever mystical powers owners Luis and Debbie Pazos summoned up to hire and train the staff, they’ve worked.  (Another server even has a farm that provides pork for the restaurant.) ​​

 

We have Foie Gras Au Torchon, rich, and luscious.  The balsamic compote and pinecone bud syrup tinge the dish with perfect sweetness.  

 

I’m the odd person who doesn’t like pistachio, so it was set to the side (for Loree) in the blue fin tuna crudo, topped with gentle heat of calabrian chili oil.   (The dish doesn’t need no stinkin’ pistachio--in my opinion...)

 

 Menus can be laid out in all sorts of formats, but I’ve never seen historical.  The Bucatini Cacio e Pepe originating in the fifteenth century, features black pepper and pecorino. Alla gricia, from a hundred years later,  adds guanicale  (salt-cured meat).  The next two bucatinis--imagine thick spaghetti with a hole running through it-- were introduced closer in time and added more ingredients.  The final, the most recent, is a combination of all: black pepper, pecorino, guanicale, pomodoro, breadcrumbs, and strattiatella.  

 

I say the menu has a historical order--but the printed menu itself simply lists four bucatinis.  Erica is the one that weaves in the history when we ask about the menu. Chef Mico, the wizard of Mystico, later told us he was considering doing a flight of these pastas.  Because Erica’s rendition enticed us--we were lucky to get a trial flight.  Each dish subtly reflects its ingredients, and eating them is like a little historical tour of pasta.  If we were forced--on peril of going over Niagara Falls via barrel--we would  choose the culminating pasta, the more recent (Alla Amatriciana)--but a flight of pasta would give future diners a tasty challenge.

 

Another dish that stands out is the spinach pappardelle with crispy duck skin, a duck ragu with a Barolo (!) reduction and parmigiano reggiano. I’m a sucker for duck--and Chef Mico creates a  symphony of flavors here. The pasta--as all of the pasta of the night--is homemade and cooked al dente (literally “to the tooth,” the satisfying, firm sensation you feel when eating pasta that is cooked to perfection).

 

Loree especially liked the Spaghetti Alla Chitarra. She wrote me later: “The generous portion of incredibly sweet crab balanced … the bright lemon and the bite of the calabrian chili.  While I'm typically a duck person,  that might have been my favorite!”

 

To accompany the pasta, I had a sagrantino, a bold wine that stood up to the pasta and strong flavors. WineFolly.com later told me  it comes from a “tiny hillside village of Montefalco” in Umbria and has the tannic punch of cocoa.   That seems right; it reminded me a bit of a syrah.  Loree was happy with the Crotin barbera from Piedmont.

 

We had one final entree to round out our bellies: the pan-seared halibut--light, flaky, bathed in Meyer lemon sauce.  Chanterelle mushrooms and crispy pancetta make up the supporting cast--oh, and a nice crunchy potato wedge. 

 

People.

 

We felt the glow of two hours of culinary joy.  

 

I need to give the final words to chef Mico who stopped by our table to guide us along our journey.  As a sixteen year old, he started cooking in upstate New York, opening a restaurant with his mother.   He’s probably the only chef around who had a life as a rodeo rider as well as a health care provider.  That daring and care unite in his food.

 

These words and images give a pale hint of the dining experience awaiting at Mystico Cucina Italiano.  In short: go!