Accursio Lota, executive chef and owner of Cori Trattoria Pastificio in North Park, is the owner of a family-operated Southern Italian restaurant that focuses on Sicilian cuisine.
Celebrating four years in business, Cori recently earned a place in the esteemed “Top Italian Restaurant 2024 Guide” by Gambero Rosso, likened to a Michelin achievement in Italy’s culinary world. Gambero Rosso, known for its discerning palate, has meticulously selected restaurants for its guide since 1986.
Cori proudly displays a three-fork distinction, signifying excellence in authenticity, service, and wine selection. This distinction places Cori among 30 globally and one of five in the United States.
Furthermore, Cori recently underwent a stunning makeover, blending its Italian Trattoria with a 1960s flair in collaboration with interior designer Graham Strickler, injecting vibrant energy into the space and enhancing the Sicilian dining experience, perfectly capturing the essence of San Diego. Accursio’s core team includes sommelier Frederico Cavalleri, Chef de Cuisine Jorge Ceron, and lead server Ben Vasiliou.
At our on-site review, we learned that Accursio started his culinary journey in Italy at the young age of 14 as part of a trade school program. He loved to apply his learnings when cooking with his mother and grandmother and he learned to appreciate farm-to-table quality from his farmer grandfather. His other grandparents owned a grocery store, so any ingredients not on the farm were readily available.
Accursio created an over-the-moon tasting menu, allowing us to sample at least one item from each of the menu sections. For appetizers, we had Lumache, braised escargot in a marinara sauce with a mint battuto, and garlic confit. I was surprised to see escargot on the menu, being an Italian vs. French restaurant. Leave it to the Sicilians, the escargot was heavenly.
We also had arancini — crispy rice balls, fried golden brown and infused with mushrooms, mozzarella and gorgonzola cheese. A crock of whipped Pecorino cheese sauce accompanied the arancini. Our third appetizer was Eggplant Parmigiana, fried whole and topped with cherry tomatoes and baked cheese.
At Frederico’s suggestion, we both had the Etna Rosso DOC Navigable Nerello Mascalese/Nerello Cappuccio blend. The volcanic-based soil helped to produce a nice cherry palate but was not overpowering. For customers, Frederico’s goal is to source and share native Italian wines from small producers with a focus on Sicilian wines. He loves to find obscure, esoteric varietals and avoids well-known Italian wines such as Chiantis and Super Tuscans.
Accursio shared that Cori’s menu is updated a few times per year. About 30% of the menu items change; 20% are favorites and stay the same, including their lasagna, my favorite item we tasted. The other 50% are protein-based, but the entrees change based on seasonality to incorporate farm-to-table vegetables.
Additionally, all pasta is handmade and extruded at their restaurant, including gluten-free options. We were able to enjoy a couple of the pasta dishes during the main (second) portion of our tasting menu.
We were spoiled with one of Cori’s most popular dishes, their lasagna with a bechamel Angus beef and pork Bolognese. House-made spinach pasta is used for the noodles to create seven layers of heavenly lasagna. In addition to the lasagna, we had the Kabocha squash and duck confit ravioli with savory flavors, including sage.
Our third main item was the Brasato, short ribs braised 18 hours in a caramelized mushroom sauce. The short ribs were topped with a timbale onion. Our server, Ben, shaved dark chocolate over the dish tableside. The melt-in-your-mouth ribs perfectly rounded out our main dinner item parade. We paired the main entrees with Montefalco Rosso, a 2016 Sangiovese/Sagrantino blend from Umbria.
Dinner concluded with Ruota Menfitana, Accursio’s hometown ruota shell filled with sheep ricotta, candied oranges, pistachio, prickly pear juice and Mousse al Limone e Mirtilli — lemon mousse, local passion fruit, blueberry, bitter orange jam, and meringa.
For our North County readers, next time you are in San Diego, make a day trip out of it and enjoy the delicious flavors of Cori Trattoria Pastificio and see why Gambero Rosso awarded them a spot in their guide. Thank you, Accursio and team, for your hospitality. See more at coripasta.com.
— Story by Rico Cassoni
Wine Bytes
If you missed Cass Winery at the recent Family Winemakers Tasting Showcase, you can enjoy their wines and co-owner Ted Plemons at Vittorio’s Italian Trattoria on Thursday, April 25, at 6 p.m. Owner Victor Magalhaes is serving a four-course Cass Wine dinner with grilled beef tenderloin, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus paired with Cass 2019 C-A-B Cabernet Sauvignon as the main course. The cost is $75 per person plus tax/gratuity. RSVP at 858-538-5884.
Rico Cassoni is the executive producer for Taste of Wine and Food. He and founder/advisor Frank Mangio, a renowned wine connoisseur certified by Wine Spectator, are two of the leading reviewers on the web. Reach them at [email protected].
