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Via Veneto

Oct08

Location: 3009 Main St. Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 399-1843

Date: April 13, 2014

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Excellent contemporary Italian

LA is overflowing with Italian restaurants, but there is tremendous range in quality (and price). From old fashioned “red sauce” places to modernist takes like Il Grano. Via Veneto is in that high middle ground were it serves Italian (not exactly Italian American) up with panache.

2011 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis. 89 points. White peach, white flowers and minerals. Fresh with a hint of effervescence. Straightforward but enjoyable.

They do get a strike for having not only a $30 corkage (which I can stomach) but a 1 bottle policy. This forced me to buy this decent bottle from the list — but I had to pay a $60 markup for it!

Bread and olives.

CAPRESE CON BUFALA LAZIALE. buffalo mozzarella from “Lazio”, heirloom tomatoes, basil, olive oil.

Caprese with Burrata. Because Burrata always makes everything better!

TARTARA DI MANZO AL COLTELLO. knife cut prime beef filet tartare prepared to order, Pantelleria caper, house special dressing.

MELANZANE ALLA PARMIGIANA. farmers market eggplant, parmigiana style. Not exactly a traditional shape, more like involtini.

INSALATINA DI ARAGOSTA E QUINOA CON MENTA E LIMONE. lobster and quinoa salad, min and citrus vinaigrette. They do love this cylindrical shape. This was a pleasant salad, but the quinoa dominated (i.e. it was hard to really taste the lobster).

RUCOLA SELVATICA, RADICCHIO TREVIGIANO E REGGIANO. wild arugula, treviso radicchio, parmigiano reggiano.

From my cellar: 1990 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Vigna Cicala. 94 points. Such a beautiful intense nose of tar, rose petals, leather…wow. Medium structured with great balance. Long and delish.

RAVIOLI DI VITELLO AI PORCINI. home made veal ravioli, porcini mushroom tomato sauce.

FETTUCCINE AL SUGO DI COSTINE DI MAIALE DELLA MONNA. home made fettuccine with slowly braised baby back pork ribs ragout, tomato sauce. Basically a porky Bolognese.

Pumpkin Ravioli. In butter and sage. Apparently very good, but no amareto cookie inside (that’s traditional).

RISOTTO AL ROSMARINO CON SPEZZATINO DI CINGLIALE. rosemary risotto with braised wild boar. It’s hard to pass up cingliale (boar), and this is a good reason why!

AGNELLO IN CROSTA. pan roasted rack of Sonoma lamb in a crust of fine herbs. Nice!

Mediterranean sea bass, simply grilled.

Some sides: beats and broccolini.

More sides: spinach and roasted potatoes.

The dessert menu.

Chocolate tart.

Profiteroles, stuffed with pastry cream.

Panna cotta with nutella. The hazelnut aspect was subtle, but this was delicious.

Crema di amaretto. A layered thing with lady fingers, this had that delicious complex secondary vibe going that I love from good Italian desserts. That’s why I occasionally make my own uber Tiramisu.

Overall, Via Veneto has a great kitchen. As this category of high end Italian Italians in LA goes, this is a very good one. All the food is extremely tasty. Service was good. It’s dark (not a problem) and a little loud. My biggest ding goes for a strict corkage policy of $30 and one bottle. That’s pretty steep, they could do without the bottle limit for those of us who want to work to empty our cellars.

Oh, and if you’re curious how this compares to the “real thing” I have about 50 write ups from Northern and Central Italy here!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (0)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Italian cuisine, Italy, lamb, pasta, Risotto, Veneto, Venice, Wine

Amarone at Oliverio

May14

Restaurant: Oliverio [1, 2, 3]

Location: 9400 W Olympic Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 407-7791

Date: May 8, 2013

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome Amarone

The summer Hedonist season is heating up and brings us to the Avalon Hotel’s poolside Italian, Oliverio for a special Amarone dinner.

The atmosphere is tres LA and top notch.

Sharon holds down are giant table before the festivities begin.

This is our custom menu, but as you’ll see below we nearly doubled the number of courses!

2010 Giovanni Almondo Roero Arneis Vigne Sparse. The nose showed white flowers, almond skins and a spritz of lemon. On the palate, I found sweet apple, floral notes and hints of peach. The finish was clean, fresh and highly enjoyable.

Antipasto. Crudo di Pesce. Santa Barbara Uni, amachi, santa barbara prawns, yellowfin tuna. Nice fresh fish in the (new) Italian tradition.

2000 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 91. Explosive notes of green apple and obvious minerality plus a touch of wood toast lead to elegant, intense and long medium weight, beautifully textured flavors. This stains the palate and though this is not an especially powerful wine, it packs plenty of flavor authority.

Our bottle was fairly oxidized with strong creme brule flavors.

Roasted Bone Marrow. Fava beans, fresh radish, salsa verde. Really a knock out.

Cauliflower flan with black truffles.

1980 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella. Brick red. Nose of dried flowers, tea leaves, camomile, licuorice. Full bodied, ripe. Finish of plum peel. Still a lot of spice.

1981 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella. Deep ruby color with browning edges. Potent nose of tar, black licorice and sweet prunes. Deep and creamy with spicy black prune and raisiny fruit. Still loaded with acidity that is almost overwhelming. Finishes with an earthy complexity and a hint of alcohol. Much younger tasting than the 1980 (even though that wasn’t tired).

2004 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella. Parker 94. The 2004 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is flat-out gorgeous. Why can’t all the Bertani wines be this good? The 2004 is a superb, elegant Amarone graced with expressive dark red fruit, flowers, tobacco and spices, all supported by finessed, silky tannins. Sweet roses, tar and licorice are woven into the layered, sublime finish. Deceptively medium in body, the 2004 has the stuffing to age well for decades. This is a terrific showing from Bertani.

Bread.

Primo. Risotto. Pioppini mushroom, braised Sonoma lamb neck. Tasted just like a great Osso Bucco. Awesome!

Tommaso Bussola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Tb Vigneto Alto. Deep ruby. Opulent, sexy aromas off red cherry syrup, strawberry jelly, marzipan, cardamom and cinnamon. Dense, sweet and seamless, offering a lovely multilayered mouthful of red fruits, jam and spices. Finishes extremely long, with powerful grip and building tannins that stay silky-smooth. This clocks in at 47.8 g/l total dry extract, 11.1 g/l residual sugar and 6.45 g/l total acidity.

A vegetarian risotto with mushrooms and saffron.

2005 Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. Nose: Dark berries, sage, mint, maybe some tomato. A hint of vinegar. Taste: It has a tomato and liqueur-y kind of note. The slightest hint of sweetness with some brandy notes on the back. My friend who enjoys Amarone gives this an 89… I’m not enjoying the style but lets go with her thoughts.

Secondi. Porchetta. Roasted korobuta pork belly, frigitelli pepper, porcini mushroom.

Not actually that fatty (considering) but with a really nice rich flavor and a bit of heat from the pepper.

2006 Monti Coroni Amarone della Valpolicella Classico.

Seabass with tomatoes and olives.

2003 Bolla Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. Surprised by this wine. Still very young, and quite tannic, with nice deep red fruit characteristics, with no raisin component at all. Nice, interesting wine that was very enjoyable. Give it time.

Salmon with fennel and potatoes.

1996 Romano Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore Vigneto Monte Lodoletta. Deep, rich red wine, erupting with pure, and intense aromas of cedar, black currants, dried cherries, basil, earth, spices, and hints of leather and tobacco on the back-end. The palate is pure, focused, concentrated, ad extremely elegant with mirroring brightness of fruit and a savoriness that leads into an unbelievably deep and rich 60 second finish with the kind of finesse that most winemakers only dream of. This is only the second time I have had the pleasure of trying this incredible wine, and I relished every moment of it. This is easily the best Valpolicela in the market. Anyone, If you come across this wine anywhere, buy it and drink it, because you need to try what a truly great valpolicela holds beneath its cork.

This isn’t technically an Amarone, but a wine made in the same region with the same grapes without the ripasso method (drying into raisons).

Quail in wine reduction sauce with polenta. Really nice.

1997 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Mazzano. This beautiful mouth filling wine had a port-like nose and guess what….the first sip exhibited a lovely, mature, extracted port-like taste. The wine had Valpo flavors at just the right intensity, not as large as Port, but the correct stature for the grapes that make up the blend. The bottle was consumed over three days and each day I thought that the intensity, ripeness and mouth feel would decrease but it maintained a wonderful flavor to the end of the bottle. A real treat.

Polenta with gorgonzola.

2001 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Campolongo di Torbe. Parker 91. The palate is very soft, graceful, matured, powerful and really broad. Overall the wine seems really dry, although there is a hint of sweetness at the tip of the tongue. Soft yet brawny tannic structure. Dried cherries, figs, earthiness, leather, dark-roasted coffee and raisins in an impeccable balance; none of these flavors dominate the complex palate, everything is in its right place. Lengthy finish with round, sweet taste of figs, moccha and wooden oak. A spectacular wine, this is. It is so powerful its high alc. (16,6%) doesn’t show at all, bar a slight touch of heat in the throat. One of the best wines I have ever tasted, probably even the best. Impressive now, but has a powerful body that’ll hold easily for another decade.

La Casola. Traditional duck and sausage stew with cabbage.

Almost like a French Cassolette. Rich meat, rich sausage, and rich sauce!

1999 Allegrini Amarone Classico (in 3L!). Parker 91-95. The impressive 1999 Amarone della Valpolicella is from a vintage which was anything but easy, but apparently created few problems here. Rich, jammy, and spicy aromas are followed by full and voluminous flavors, broad and warmly alcoholic with abundant super-ripe fruit and notes of chocolate, solid but voluptuous and extremely long on the finish.

Tomato, basil, and burrata pizza. Somehow the crust is made from potato? Anywhichway, it was a great pizza, very chewy.

1980 Castello di Cacchiano Vin Santo del Chianti Classico. A mid sweet Vin Santo, very pleasant.

Chocolate cake with creme fraiche and passionfruit sauce.

Overall, this was another knock out knight. The food was fantastic, even if we had no pasta! and was well paired with the rich heavy Amarones. That atmosphere outside by the pool really added as well and Oliverio, its staff, and chef, took fantastic care of us.

More crazy Hedonist adventures or

LA dining reviews click here.

Big Mark opens his big bottle!

By: agavin
Comments (14)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Amarone, Bertani, Bone Marrow, hedonists, Italian cuisine, Italian wine, Oliverio, Valpolicella, Veneto

Quick Eats: Piccolo

Nov08

Restaurant: Piccolo [1, 2]

Location: 5 Dudley Ave, Venice, Ca. 310-314-3222

Date: Nov 5, 2010

Cuisine: Northern Italian

Rating: Much above average neighborhood Italian.

The location of this upscale neighborhood Italian has always been weird. You turn on Rose, and find it about 30 feet from the seedy boardwalk on Dudley, conveniently located near the drug dealers and others who hang out on the Venice boardwalk at night. Don’t worry it’s well lit, and they recently installed their own valet.

A couple years ago my wife and I had gone when the place had been under the shepardship of Antonio Mure, a talented local chef whose cuisine instantly said to me: “Verona” (certainly not a bad thing). Most Americans don’t realize how much Italian cuisine varies by region. In those days there were no reservations, only an hour long wait standing with the other yuppies watching the pot clouds drift by. Now you can reserve, even on Open Table. The space seems larger too. Mure moved on to various other restaurants, including the much lamented by me, Il Carpaccio. In any case, they new chef is named Bobo, and he’s also from the Veneto, a good thing, and totally obvious from the cooking.

I apologize for the picture quality as I forgot both my 5D Mark II and my little S90 backup camera and had to resort to the iphone 4, which really has come a long way for a cel phone camera.

You can see by the dishes that he is an innovative cook, and this is neither an old school italian menu, nor even a typical example of modern LA Italian. “Caprese Rivisitata. heirloom tomatoes, burrata, revisited microbasil, sicilian olive oil.” Here Burrata (one can never go wrong with Burrata) tops layers of tomatos, some even pureed.

The wine list was pretty reasonable, and had a wealth of northern Italians. I didn’t bring wine as it was just a quick dinner, and so settled on this reasonable 2007 Marcarini Barbaresco. It was only $40 for a half bottle and was very pleasant for such a young wine. If I’m going so young, I often prefer Barbaresco over Barolo as it’s more approachable early on.

The group that spawned Piccolo originally, and at various points included La Botte, Wilsons in culver city, Il Carpaccio, and Ado — I’m not fully educated on how they’re all connected — has always had good bread. Excllent for sopping up those buttery northern Italian sauces.

I ordered this odd pairing slightly skeptically. Warm seared Hamachi over buffalo mozzarella with clover, olive oil, and a kind of basil Pistou. It was good. Very good. Usually fish and cheese pairings don’t work. It was the pesto-like sauce (just off camera, in little blobs) that really drew all the elements of the dish together.

Pumpkin ravioli. This is the Chef‘s interpretation of my wife’s most favorite pasta, a specialty of Mantua (less than an hour from Verona). In the most traditional dish the ravioli are stuffed with a mixture of pumpkin or squash and Amaretto cookies, then lightly covered in butter sage sauce. These had a slightly different shape, and no Amaretto. They were perhaps a tiny bit too al dente, and the sauce coverage not quite a 100%, but still good.

This is a risotto with sausage and a fontina-butter sauce around the edge. I’m very partial to certain kinds of risotto when done right. This one was excellent. In a good risotto, the buttery flavor is so intense that it encourages very small bites. The rice had just the right texture. The sausage was good, but I’ve had slightly better (there is this joint in Philly’s little Italy which has been grinding it’s own since the 19th century — their slogan is something like “nothing but the pig.”)

LA has a lot of very good Italian places, a lot of mediocre ones, and a lot of terrible ones. This one is very much above average and worthy of being in the rotation. It’s different too, being a little more experimental and modern, typical of Italy’s bustling north. Many other places have stronger Sicilian or Tuscan influences. I happen to love Sicilian food too, it’s just different, which is a good thing. It’s nice to have some Veneto in the mix. For some reason, as beautiful as Tuscany is, it’s never been my favorite region on the culinary front, perhaps because of it’s emphasis on heavy meats. Not that it’s bad, food is never bad in Italy, but many of Italy’s other regions are more to my taste food-wise. I still long to find real Sicilian deserts in the states. In Philly or NY you can get a real Cannoli, but I’ve never, ever, found a real Cassata alla Siciliana in the states. Even Celestino Drago who is a world class Sicilian Chef, and a friend of mine, makes a modernized version (which can be seen HERE). It’s good, but I prefer the totally old school one with the Ricotta that separates and goes bad in 8 hours.

A second review of Piccolo can be found HERE.