Two Bells for Narberth’s Aperto


Craig LaBan visits Aperto in Narberth. The BYO by John Wolferth, a veteran of Main Line fine dining includes enough hits that Lit achieves a two bell rating.

At his best, with the entrées of slow-braised meats, Wolferth conjures dishes I’d crave regularly if I lived closer – in particular his lamb sugo, a rustic bowl of tenderly stewed leg meat pulled to shreds in a brothy lamb gravy over pappardelle noodles with long-stemmed artichokes. The pappardelle reappeared on my second visit beneath a zesty crumble of guanciale-tinged wild boar Bolognese, amped even further with herbs and red wine. A plate of slow-cooked veal cheeks was so impossibly soft the almost feathery meat practically melted into the cauliflower puree at the tap of a fork.

Two Bells – Very Good

Aperto [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Aperto [Official Site]