Primo holds a special place in my life — it’ll always be the restaurant in which my wife thought I was going to propose to her, but I didn’t. Perhaps “singular place” is a more appropriate term, because Primo really is just that. Singular for its longevity (the Grande Lakes outpost of the Rockland, Maine, original has been at it for nearly a quarter-century); singular for its chef (Melissa Kelly is a two-time James Beard Award winner); and singular for its produce (the restaurant has access to on-site organic gardens and the 7,000-square-foot Whisper Creek Farm).
The space, now bright and airy thanks to a much-needed redesign in 2021, is all Mediterranean modernism meets Puglian masseria. And amid all the white-washedness is a Filipino immigrant who’s been quietly leaving his culinary fingerprints all over town, first at Danilo’s Pasta Bar at East End Market, then Chez Les Copains at City Food Hall and, more recently, at the short-lived Asin at Arden — D.J. Tangalin.
The chef de cuisine has been charged with stewarding Kelly’s vision while she’s at her home base in Maine, and executing her farm-to-table Med-Italian bill of fare at the signature resto inside the J.W. Marriott Grande Lakes. He appears to be doing a primo job, too. His amuse-bouche of a squid-ink waffle cone filled with lobster mousse, apricot confit and a topping of trout roe wasn’t just larger in stature than most other amuses I’ve had, but larger in flavor. I could’ve eaten an adult-size cone of this stuff, even with all the primi we ordered.
As you might expect, my wife didn’t join me, but the pal and I scarfed down the “trio of breads” ($4) — rosemary-onion focaccia, sourdough levain and sesame baguette — served with a 12-year balsamic and olive oil dip. Our only knock was that the bread was served cold. Like just-taken-out-of-the-fridge cold. We saved a few shreds to sop up the tomato sauce and ricotta served with some smashing meatballs ($19) splodged with smoked scamorza cheese. Crispy garlic was a nice addition in the sauce, but it lost any crispness when garnished atop kale agnolotti ($16) after a tableside pour of prosciutto broth. The liquid was saltless; it also managed to sink the trout roe in this “soup” to the bottom. Add the bitter profile, and this is probably a starter that could be reworked. Plenty of crisp in the seasonal spring salad ($19), however: Local and hyperlocal ingredients like arugula, artichoke, avocado, grapefruit and grilled corn bathed in a golden balsamic made it a must-reorder.
But let’s talk pasta. Tangalin lured them in at Danilo’s Pasta Bar with his expert ability to extrude noodles into gorgeous plates of comfort, and he does so here as well. The lobster cacio e pepe ($45), for example, is an absolute stunner of a dish. The tail of the Caribbean (not Maine) crawler is grilled over binchotan coals and brushed with garlic-herb butter before being sliced and artfully positioned over peppered and pecorino-ed bucatini. Was it a bit salty? Yes. Would I order it again? Hell yes. We considered another pasta, but word came that Tangalin was high on the eye of rib ($67). After devouring the two meaty chunks set over a bold and velvety peppercorn sauce, we were too…