There’s no shortage of fabbo at Fazzo

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/06/2009 (6328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I Googled endlessly, looking for the meaning of Fazzo, which I was sure had to be an Italian word, but, apart from some people by that name, all I could come up with was Australian slang for fabulous or wonderful. A definition that might be applied to much, if not all of the food at Fazzo, the newest Corydon Avenue bistro.

It’s a strikingly attractive place — sleek, stylish and modern, but not intimidatingly so, with a high raftered ceiling, comfortingly soft lighting, and a decor done in muted tones of sand, cafe au lait and chocolate brown.

The staff are friendly, attentive and helpful.

Possibly the Aussie meaning of Fazzo was what was intended. But it was tempting fate to choose a name that is also a homonym for fatso — ironically, since if you try to compose a meal of a few appetizers (which many diners do these days), the risk of ever being called fatso is minimal.

Whether Italian or not, the name does suggest Italian food, which in turn suggests generosity, which is noticeably absent among the starters.

Dinners start with a complimentary amuse bouche, so delicious we wanted more, much more, but they aren’t on the menu. One night it was a teaspoon of salmon tartare, another night a smidgen of cured salmon on a dollop of what was called couscous but which tasted more like barley. Miniscule, yes, but fair enough; they were free, and the usual definition of amuse bouche is bite-size.

But don’t expect many more bites from the appetizers you do pay for. In most restaurants if I start with an appetizer I expect to share it, and in most restaurants they are big enough to share. That wouldn’t have worked at Fazzo, where the starters, although delicious, were downright diminutive.

Barely enough for one, in fact, at prices that might — unless you’re on expense account and have a bird-like appetite — strain your tolerance.

Tender, moist scallops, for instance, were done to the exact appropriate second, but there were only two of them — small ones at that, paired with about an inch of crisp and also delicious pork belly, for $12. The crab cakes tasted mostly, beautifully, of crab, but the order consisted of two very small cakes for $11. At first glance beef carpaccio looked more generous, spread out on a long plate, but the slices turned out to be tissue-thin, amounting to — my guess — not more than one ounce, two at most, for $13.

You get more to eat with the main courses, or rather, with most of them. We gasped when we saw the size of the spaghetti carbonara — a small mound in the middle of a big plate ($13). And although it contained plenty of pancetta, the pasta was over-peppered, under-cheesed, and very, very dry.

Other entrees were of normal size, and two of them were outstanding — top-notch sablefish (a.k.a. Alaska black cod), which was white, flaky and rich-flavoured ($28), and a remarkably tender and moist roasted Cornish hen in a lovely grainy mustard sauce ($24). Salmon agrodolce, in a nice sweet and sour sauce, would have ranked higher if the flavour of the salmon itself had been less strong ($21).

Unfortunately satisfaction here may depend on what is ordered. If everything I tried had lived up to what was best there might have been another half a star above, but two braised meat entreés were unsuccessful, both suffering, I suspect, either from overcooking or, possibly, reheating once too often. A veal ragout, for instance, bedded on broad pappardelle noodles, was flavourless, dry and stringy ($19), and braised beef short ribs were only marginally less so, their only compensation a seductively smooth bed of polenta ($21).

All the garnishes were delicious though — a creamy mushroom risotto with the Cornish hen, and, with most of the others, baby potatoes, spears of asparagus, sauteéd shallots and tiny, pale beets. On the other hand, some of the bread in our basket was under-baked, and too doughy to eat, and the rest of it tasted disappointingly ordinary.

There are only a few desserts, but they are luscious ($5 to $6). A pine nut and honey tart is good, if not as excitingly so as the sumptuously rich crème brûlée and the absolutely delectable if (sigh!) smallish portion of a dense chocolate-walnut torte.

The restaurant’s coffee policy is odd and arbitrary. The only kind available is an Americano — i.e. an espresso topped up with hot water ($2.75). No ordinary roast, and, inexplicably, not even a straight, small, unwatered espresso. The wine list is interesting, with some elegant high-end choices.

Rare among upscale restaurants, Fazzo also has a take-out, fast-food section, located at a side entrance on Wentworth. Best bets are a four ounce burger with cheese ($3.50), a veggie burger of crushed chickpeas and walnuts ($4) and delicious, skinny fries ($2.50). Not quite up to the others, was a sandwich of insipid and slightly pulpy pulled pork with cole slaw ($6) A Greek salad was acceptable although the few tomatoes I found looked and tasted frozen ($7).

Two other items, however, were downright poor. The chili on the Chili N’ Cheese Fries tasted only faintly of chili but it did have an unpleasantly tinny tomato flavour ($4.50), and the tomato sauce on a meatball sub was equally unpleasant.

marion.warhaft@freepress.mb.ca

Fazzo

905 Corydon Avenue, 478-1872 (take-out 415-3474)

Licensed

Wheelchair access

Four stars out of 5