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PrintSmall Plates, Big Flavor at Dan Butler’s Piccolina Toscana
The names may have changed, but Butler’s talents for delivering delicious Mediterranean dishes hasn’t. The Trolley Square bistro is as divine as ever.
The Borsina Mele dessert at Piccolina Toscana consists of a puff pastry purse baked with apples and ricotta and served with caramel and almond brittle.
Piccolina Toscana
When it opened as Griglia Toscana in 1992, Dan Butler’s restaurant was to be the cornerstone of a renaissance in Wilmington’s dining scene, and there’s no doubt the dining scene has grown up since. Wilmington was no stranger to Italian food then, but it had never had the kind of authentic fare that Butler so deftly redefined and re-labled as “upscale.” Which he continues to do. Griglia Toscana was later refreshed as Tavola Toscana, reinvented as the more casual Toscana Kitchen & Bar later still, then recently re-made again as Piccolina Toscana. Each iteration has brought a little something new to town. With Piccolina we get small plates with big flavors—pungent Gorgonzola, spicy horseradish, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, hearty meats and, still, hand-rolled pastas—and presented in ways perfect for sharing. 1412 N. Dupont St., Wilmington, 654-8001, piccolinatoscana.com
