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Dinner Closed Sundays RESERVATIONS:
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Cucina
Toscana
Cucina Toscana, a quaint Italian trattoria with fewer than two dozen tables and more than enough customers to fill them, opened in September, replacing the 3rd West Bistro on the north side of the old Firestone building on 300 South. The new restaurant is the product of Valter Nassi, the New York restaurateur who came to Utah several years ago to open the upscale Il Sansovino in the American Stores building. When American Stores moved out, Il Sansovino closed without much comment, and Nassi apparently went to work on this newest project at the request of owner Ken Milo. Nassi’s concept at Cucina Toscana is to introduce the simple, delicious Tuscan food of his hometown, San Sovino, more affordably priced than at Il Sansovino. At the same time, he wanted to instill the cordial and attentive details of the trattoria his family still operates in Italy. The results are impressive: top-notch service; an extensive menu, with an antipasto bar, fresh pastas and traditional Italian specialties; a comprehensive wine list, with $5 glasses of almost any wine; and a general friendliness that makes this the kind of place you would return to again and again. Nassi himself makes it a point to try to greet every customer at the door or within moments of being seated at linen-covered tables. He maintains a presence on the dining floor, making sure everything is running smoothly and occasionally checking with diners to ensure they are satisfied with the final outcome. Having tried at least nine pasta dishes over a couple of visits, each with a different, but always delectable sauce, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of the choices, which differ somewhat at lunch and dinner. Fresh pomodoro sauce with perfectly cooked calamari and shrimp over handmade angel-hair pasta ($9.95) was particularly good, as was the primavera ($7.95), with lots of fresh vegetables sautéed in abundant, high-quality olive oil. Also excellent was a dinner special of spinach and ricotta ravioli, although because of our late reservations (we barely squeaked in under the wire and got the evening’s last opening), there wasn’t much left. The kitchen made up for it by adding some rigatoni with a tasty bolognese (meat and tomato) sauce to the plate.
A filet of salmon cooked with capers and artichoke hearts was a wonderful daily fish special at lunch ($10.95), and the dinner entrée, Rullatine di Bue, or beef stuffed with portobello mushroom and gorgonzola and fontina cheeses ($13.95), wasn’t disappointing, although the fresh pasta dishes were the standouts. Pasta dishes and meat entrées can be requested by the half-order at dinner, which makes sampling the antipasto platter, salad or soup more appealing. Choosing between the traditional Tuscan white bean soup or a purée of asparagus and potato, both for $4.25 at dinner, was difficult, but the latter-served steaming hot- proved as good as it sounds. Minestrone, instead of the asparagus soup, is served at lunch. If you like Caesar salad, don’t miss this one. It is prepared tableside for two, and our server, Sam, did it with such dramatic flair that diners from surrounding tables seemed in awe. The fresh dressing and garlicky homemade croutons made the end result as good as the show ($10.95).
Our dining experiences wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable, on either occasion, without superior service. From the time we arrived, we were pampered and entertained, but never so much that it was overwhelming or annoying. There were a few slow moments, particularly at lunch, but as busy as the restaurant is, that is understandable. And given the delicious food and overall friendliness of the staff, it certainly is forgivable. Where: 307 W. Pierpont
Ave
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Italy has taken over
the tiny bit of France formerly found at Salt Lake’s historic “Tire
Town,” and from early indications, the occupation could-and,
we hope, will-be long-lived.
Less zesty but also
delicious was fettuccine in a four-cheese cream sauce with asparagus
off the lunch menu ($8.95). Risotto, cooked with fresh tomatoes
and topped with olive oil, takes 20 minutes to cook, but is worth the
wait. It is brought to the table hot off the stove, and
dished from pan to plate by the server ($9.95 at lunch; dinner’s “risotto
of the day” is $17.95).
"Imported” desserts
seem to vary daily, but the house specials are constant: the luscious
Nassi family-recipe tiramisu ($4), and gelatos ($3.50) that our waiter
appropriately declared “the best in town.” Especially
good was the pistachio gelato, although the chocolate wasn’t
far behind.