DELIZIOSO, DACQUISTO

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/07/2009 (5954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NOTHING seems changed since Pasta la Vista lived here.

 The same spa­cious but comfy interior, still dominated by the inner-lit plexiglass box over the cen­tral fireplace; the same dark woods, still brightened by a few flashes of colour from the fuzzy reproduction of Bot­ticelli’s  Primavera,  which still looks better from a distance than up close.

Same place. Different outcome. These days this free-standing building is home to the eponymous Dacquisto, named for Michael Dacquisto, long time executive chef of Wow! Hospitality. He has opened many of Wow’s other restaurants, and, with almost monotonous regularity, has achieved my top five-star rating in all of them. And he’s done it again today.

As the name indicates, this one is his personal baby, featuring a predominantly Northern Italian cuisine, reflecting his own background, and inspired as well by a short stint in the kitchen of a Michelin two-star restaurant in Italy. Possibly his ambition is best represented by the osso buco, a dish that occasionally turns up elsewhere — too often, one might say, given the usual perfunctory efforts which, even if passable, have usually been just simple veal stews, dominated by too much tomato sauce.

That’s not how they do it at Dacquisto, where a veal shank is cooked slowly for several hours and carved at tableside, the dewy juices visibly trickling down each tender slice. The presentation is dramatic. The entire shank sits upright on a marble sheet (to keep the slices hot), with the marrow bone sticking up out of it, and yes, with the marrow intact — a tad hard to get at, but one has to be grateful for so rare a treat. All that was missing was the gremolata — a mixture of chopped lemon zest, parsley and garlic that is the traditional finish for osso buco — but even without it the dish was a triumph, as well it might be at $72 for two.

Equally impressive is the bistecca fiorentina, which comes as close to the real Tuscan deal as one can get without Chianina beef from Italy. But this Canadian prime grade porterhouse, a good 21/2 inches thick, is a full-flavoured, tender glory — seasoned with sea salt, cracked black pepper and fresh rosemary, grilled over a wood fire and treated to a final drizzle of organic extra virgin olive oil. It costs $75 for 40 ounces — for two, the menu says, but it will feed three. Easily.

Veal cheeks are the new "it" meat, popping up on sophisticated menus: a dense, almost gelatinous meat braised in a clear, winey sauce, and served with ethereal spinach and ricotta-stuffed gnocchi ($29). There’s also a gorgeous grilled branzino — an entire firm-fleshed Mediterranean sea bass, filled with lemon slices, thyme and parsley, boned and filleted tableside ($36). To my sorrow I missed the nights when my favourite vitello tonnato was the special — a cold, summer appetizer of veal slices topped by tuna mayonnaise ($14).

She who hesitates is lost — I’m still kicking myself for not having come sooner, before such rarities as octopus carpaccio, or grilled calamari were dropped from the original menu. But there are still such starters as mussels, or the much rarer fresh clams in their shells, in a buttery white wine and tomato sauce ($16), or the spicy house-made sausage with roasted onions and peppers ($10), or a warm salad of five plump shrimp with skinny green beans and hazelnuts in a chili-sparked vinaigrette ($16).

One’s first taste here is on the house, a wee amuse bouche — a tapenade of olives and cannellini beans, in our case, with the house-baked sour dough bread and extra virgin olive oil to dip it in. If cost is a consideration in the dishes you do pay for, some prices are less intimidating than others — a spicy Tuscan stew of veal, pork, lamb and veal for $22, for instance, or a quarter of a free-range chicken marinated with sea salt and cracked black pepper for $21.

The risottos are sumptuous, cooked to a creamy texture but retaining a hint of crunch, partnered (depending on the day) with porcini mushrooms and grilled beef tenderloin, possibly, or with shrimp and asparagus, at $36 for two. But although full-size portions of the house-made pastas range from $18 to $38, they are also available in half portions, from $12, for gnocchi with tomato sauce, to $26, for papardelle with lobster, shrimp and scallops in a garlic cream sauce. (My choice? spaghetti with those wonderful clams in a white wine sauce with crumbles of spicy Italian sausage.) You can even have a small pizza (a 12-by-9 inch oval) from $10 for a spicy salami, mozzarella and tomato sauce topping, to $13 for one of three cheeses with roasted garlic and tomato sauce.

However, apart from the occasional bed of greens that turns up under a few of the entrées, veggies will set you back another $8 to $10. The rosemary-seasoned roasted baby potatoes would have been a natural with the bistecca, but I couldn’t resist trying the braised ancient farro grains — slightly nutty, slightly chewy, dressed in olive oil, topped by a slice of prosciutto, and quite wonderful.

Do I have a nit to pick? Just one, the cavalo nero (black kale), which would have been fine if it hadn’t been overdosed with salt. It was replaced, however, with perfect parmesan-dusted asparagus, and as compensation we were treated to sampler portions of several desserts. We gasped when we saw them, but somehow managed to finish every last crumb of the crunchy zeppole fritters, a luscious tiramisu, assorted berries in a white wine custard and a superbly light and lemony mascarpone cheesecake ($9 to $10 a la carte).

The noise level can be high when the restaurant is full, especially at the tables nearest the kitchen. The staff is friendly, attentive and familiar with every aspect of the menu, as well as with the appropriate wines from an interesting, all-Italian list. And although the atmosphere is sophisticated and upscale, it is also child-friendly.

marion.warhaft@freepress.mb.ca