Italian drinks at Cove Trattoria tasty

Limoncello. (Credit: The Cove Trattoria)

I have never left a cocktail tasting with a “doggie bag.”

First of all, Arizona doesn't let bars serve drinks in to-go cups.

Secondly, once a Valley public relations woman told me about the time she went to an Old Town sushi bar, ordered three drinks, finished one and dumped the other two into some kind of to-go container, only to drink them the next morning. The story bewildered and shocked me.

But when I went to the Cove Trattoria to write about its Italian take on several well-known cocktails, I left with two to-go boxes (velvety tiramisu and a cannoli), and so did one of my dining companions. This is the kind of place that even if you just go there to drink, you eat.

Tucked back into Scottsdale Seville Center, the Cove is an intimate, unexpectedly chic Italian restaurant and bar that focuses on big plates of comfort food, ambitious original entrees and thoughtfully made drinks.

The low-lit interior is more modern than you'd expect from a family-run place, with sharp lines, bold accent colors and lots of hard surfaces. But it makes for the kind of spot Scottsdale socialites feel comfortable, even cool, while mingling with 70-something regulars, whether on the patio or inside.

Daryl Monica co-owns the restaurant that his parents, Barbara and Vinny, brought with them when they moved from New Jersey. He designs the bar's signature drinks (which run from $6 to $9), and says the bestseller is the limoncello martini, made with Danny DeVito limoncello, Level vodka and lemon juice. It could be the most popular drink because it's his favorite and he recommends it constantly, or because it's super-sweet and super-sour, giving adults the kind of engaging taste bud workout typically reserved for 7-year-olds eating Lemonheads.

Daryl also has created an Italian margarita (second best-selling) which is so good, I kind of wish Mexican restaurants would adopt the continentally influenced recipe. It's a mix of tequila, amaretto, orange and lime juices and simple syrup. The drink is a bright yellow revelation in a glass. He makes the margarita an all-day drink by eliminating the biting sourness of the original and replacing it with a complex sweetness.

My favorite drink is the Manhattan, so I was skeptical about the Cove's Italian version. Daryl substitutes amaretto for the sweet vermouth of the original martini and garnishes with a cherry. The new drink is more feminine than the one I love, but it's not unnecessarily sweet and does not condescend. Yes, a drink can condescend.

Made with Volta energy vodka, the Tuscan Sunrise sounds like something the cast of "The Hills" will be going on about next week, but it tastes like something I'd order again.

It's trendy, pink and made with pineapple and cranberry juices, raspberry liqueur and vodka infused with stimulants including yerba mate, ginseng, guarana and taurine.