Rino Balzano’s captures your senses. It’s suffused with an understated elegance that surrounds you like a warm wrap on a cool evening; its contemporary yet timeless decor abounds with touches such as French doors, floral valances, creamy-mustard washed textured walls and rich woods. A wood-burning oven in a quiet corner of the dining room and the fragrances of fresh basil and roasted garlic add to the aura.
Here, the menu promises cucina nostrana (home-cooking), mirroring the tastes of northern Italy. But this is much more than home cooking.
Consider the delicacy of three artichokes stuffed with tiny bits of chicken and cheese ($7.50), set afloat on a delicious sea of a lighter-than-air, herb-infused lemon oil. Or the delicious simplicity of fresh grilled vegetables ($8.50) _ red peppers, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes _ first brushed with olive oil, flavored with freshly cut garlic and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. A splendid oak-grilled portobello mushroom cap topped with high-quality goat cheese is nearly perfect, as is homemade buffalo mozzarella ($8), layered with thick slabs of succulent vine-ripened tomatoes, crowned with sprigs of fresh basil.
The menu is not overpriced, (entrees range from $13.50 for some pasta selections to $25.50 for sauteed prawns over pasta). Still, it was interesting to see that house salads consisted predominantly of iceberg lettuce coupled simply with bits of radicchio. Pleasing as it was, dressed in a well-rounded balsamic vinaigrette, it was a bit of a surprise for this type of upscale dining. Another unexpected twist: the absence of any beef or pork items on the menu. (Evening specialties recited tableside did include lamb on the night we dined.)
Clarity of flavors came through in each and every component of a whole breast of chicken with wild mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, diced tomato and fresh rosemary ($15), served with steamed fresh broccoli and zucchini. The earthy taste of pappardelle ai funghi misti ($16), a pasta dish comprised of wide, homemade pappardelle with a medley of wild mushrooms, garlic and fresh rosemary in a veal roast sauce, was also satisfying.
Those into more home-style offerings can select Gnocchi Del Giorno ($14.50), delightful little puffs of potato dumplings that the menu says are prepared differently every day. On this particular evening, they came with a dense, flavorful tomato-based sauce, complemented with plenty of mozzarella cheese.
A side order of mushrooms sauteed with garlic, olive oil and fresh parsley ($5.50) was exactly that, hallmarking the significant flavors of each ingredient but needing a touch of salt to bring out its best.
Wood-burning oven specialties include a prepared-for-two-only dramatic yellowtail snapper ($52) cooked in a sea-salt shell; moist duck ($22) marinated in herbs, served in a raspberry wine sauce; and breast of chicken ($16) prepared with potatoes, peas, prosciutto and onions in a rosemary-garlic wine sauce.
Desserts, all priced at $6, are wheeled before your eyes on a multitiered cart and include sponge cake, candied fruits and liquor-inspired goodies du jour. You won’t go wrong with any of them.
A breadlike baba au rhum with a custard filling and tiny chocolate chips was as homey and old-fashioned looking as it was good tasting; the Zuppa Inglese, a multilayered confection of sponge cake paved with a light smear of cherry/chocolate custard on one layer and a cannoli cream on another was a delight. The unanimous favorite at our table was a Cassata with cannoli filling, topped with candied fruit, filled with chocolate chips and worth each and every calorie.
Balzano, a talented singing artist in his own right with a selection of CDs and tapes for sale in the restaurant’s outer waiting room, has earned a well-placed confidence by serving the nicely prepared culinary treasures of his native northern Italy to a crowd that is eager to receive them.
M.L. Warren is a pseudonym to protect our dining critic’s anonymity. Please phone in advance to confirm information on hours, prices, menu items and facilities.
