Restaurant Review: Cantinetta: Unforgettable Italian-A Golden Piglet

PIGLET NOTE: I wrote this review on January 10th of this year (2009), after my first incredible experience at Cantinetta, a restaurant which opened this year in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. I have since gone back many times and dear friends have agreed, this restaurant truly is special. It now has the honor of being given the first ever “Official” Golden Piglet award. I dined there again this Tuesday and was wowed AGAIN, as was Zack and our dinner guest. I must admit, I am deeply biased towards Italian food and experiences, but whether you typically are or not, you can’t help but be moved by this little slice of delight.

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I was sure I was going to love Cantinetta before I walked in the door. The restaurant is on the corner of 37th and Wallingford avenue in what I call Wallingmont and its front and side are a wall of tall windows. The amber light from candlelight and hanging wrought iron and glass chandeliers feels physically warm to me as we drive past. You can see its interior very well in the dark and it looks like Italy to me. Which pretty much guarantees that on an ambiance level, I am going to love the place. I start clapping my hands like a kid and saying to Zack “Oh oh, I’m going to love this, I know it, OOOOHHHH, I’m so excited!”

We park easily on a side street and walk in. White walls, dark mahogany wood trims and beams, rustic tables, gilded mirrors, and well planned lighting is combined perfectly to feel at once casual and elegant. A special occasion you could enjoy every evening without feeling stuffy. Again, I feel I could be in a trattoria in Italy.

We’re joined by our friends Dan and Azurae, who are wonderful dinner companions and adventurous eaters. Together we will try as much as we can of a menu that offers too many enticing choices.

It is set up in the traditional Italian style with antipasto (appetizers), primi (pastas & risottos intended for 1st course), secondi (main dishes) and contorni (vegetable side dishes). This is not American Italian in any way. It is authentic in many ways, but also showcases local sustainable items and puts a contemporary spin on dishes, while still maintaining an unpretentious feel in the presentation.

For instance, we started with Grilled Pancetta wrapped dates with red oak and balsamic. Oh yum. Sweet dates, salty savory pancetta, roasted and served with a nice pile of red oak lettuce dressed simply in a balsamic syrup. Red oak was new to me and is an incredible little leaf. So much complex flavor! Peppery for sure, but as Zack noticed, it almost had a beefy note to it – I know, strange to call lettuce beefy, but it really did. The closest thing I’d compare it to would be arugula. Next, Trotter Milanese, essentially braised pig leg with the meat pulled to small pieces, formed into a meat loaf, breaded and deep fried (breaded and fried is what is meant by Milanese, or, in the style of Milan). This was unique and not as all gross, as one might fear. I enjoyed it but definitely needed my salt treatment. I’ll take a moment hear to say that I have a salt problem. My palette seems to require more and more of it the older I get. I think almost everything, no matter how delectable it is when served to me, is just that much better with a few grains of kosher salt or fleur de sel added. Nuff said.

We ate many items that night and let me say right here that the price is right. Antipastas and contorni range from $7-9 and primi and secondi from $14-$17 . The pasta is excellent. Handmade each day, the pasta itself is toothy in the right way and just as it should be. It is used in many interesting preparations and huge kudos to the chef for his many thoughtful combinations of ingredients. Unlike some restaurants, every single one of the dishes sounded good to us. The final products were all good, but some better than others. Goat cheese agnolotti with blood oranges and port was a little too much sweet and not fully balanced. The Black pepper tagliatelle with creme fraiche, farm egg and lemon was decadent and delicious. Kind of a carbonara without the bacon. Butternut squash mezzaluna (crescent shaped ravioli) with barbera braised oxtail and sage was delicious. The squash flavor was subtle, as the oxtail braised in that red wine was so flavorful and took the forefront. Savory and a touch sweet and so tender from what must have been a six hour hot bath in the wine. Hazelnut fed pork ravioli with ricotta, broccoli rabe and brown butter was also good, although maybe a little more brown butter than was needed. Contorni were beets, farro and fennel pollen, delicious, and an absolutely standout dish of the oft hated brussel sprouts, pairing them with duck confit and roman sea salt. Serious, serious yummage. No joke. Try them again, for the first time.

After all this, we found we were wonderfully comfortable, not full. The portions are nice. Not huge, but not the tiny little overly designed specks you find in more fine dining establishments either. We were able to all eat from each plate, which is good for four people.

We had room for dessert! Okay, this is a must. They have something called Zeppole. An Italian doughnut that I attempt to make at home but don’t even come close to this. Dark golden brown deep friend dough, which is clearly fortified with eggs and butter. They are at once dense and light, I loved the feeling of cutting through them with my fork. Steam is released, swirl it around in a pool of sweet espresso creme anglais, chew, repeat. A perfect end to our meal, with a nice shot of espresso (Cafe Vita).

So ends our foray to this lovely new restaurant. It is just a week old as I write. They are surely still working out some kinks, but we didn’t really experience them. The service was warm and attentive, the food interesting, flavorful and satisfying, the ambiance one of my favorite around town, though admittedly it got pretty loud by the time we left. Surely the effect of good wine, scrumptious food and an environment that lulls you into truly enjoying them.