Cantinetta Raises The Bar Impossibly High
Some people are saying Cantinetta’s Chef Brian Cartenuto has lost his mind. But it might be more accurate to say that he merely went nuts. I leave it to you to decide. (Caution: the following is a true story.)
For our June First Friday Lunch Club, Cantinetta generously agreed to open their dinner-only restaurant for a special lunch event. They sent a mouth-watering sample three-course menu, promised they could do it for only 25 bucks, and then cautioned (in hindsight, this was the first sign of trouble) that Brian wouldn’t settle on the menu until the day, so he could take advantage of what would be in and fresh that very morning.
Spurred by the double-whammy of Cantinetta’s tweets to their dedicated following and Lorna Yee’s blurb in Seattle Magazine, a record-shattering number of foodies came. The restaurant filled. New friends met. Eating stories were shared. Spirits were high. And none of us saw it coming.
Soon we were seated and the food started coming. And coming. But it wasn’t three courses. Heck, the first course alone had more than three courses. It was more like three waves. Except the second wave had three waves. And all of it impossibly delicious. It went like this:
ANTIPASTI
Shaved fennel salad, oil-cured olives, tangerines, fennel pollen
Green beans, anchovy vinaigrette, hard-boiled eggs
Grilled asparagus risotto
Insalata mista
PASTA
Veal francobolli (veal brains stuffed pasta envelopes)
Ricotta ravioli, tomato fondutta
Golden beet pansotti, arugula, pine nuts
CONTORNI
Braised greens, pancetta
Roasted cauliflower, 15-year balsamic, grana
SECONDI
Grilled Painted Hills teres major (beef shoulder tender), 15-year balsamic, sea salt
DOLCE
Lemon panna cotta, blackberry sauce
Chocolate ricotta tart
A thrilling food tsunami, so we ate and ate. Then ate some more. I could try to describe the deep flavors of the fennel and olives and tangerines in that fruity olive oil, the crisp beans and eggs richened with anchovy vinaigrette, tender just-made pastas, and on and on, but I would quickly run out of superlatives. Yet it seems insufficient to say it was completely unexpected and enormously satisfying. The pictures speak volumes, so click on any one to jump into the slideshow (huge thanks to foodie Bruce for taking most of them).
Eventually, after the waves receded, the electron cloud in the kitchen slowly resolved into Brian and his staff. Taking a short pause before spinning back up for dinner service, he deflected our praise and gratitude by explaining that he had simply wanted to give us a sense of what a true Tuscan lunch was like.
So my only question is: Has anyone seen my passport?
Wow, the photos are amazing and the text reads like you were a fly on Darryl’s shoulder…..which, of course, there were none. I know because I was there and I agree with Darryl’s stunning prose.
So funny that you are looking for your passport, because that is exactly how I felt when I ate at Cantinetta opening night – I’ve been back many times since, but still have not made it back to Italy…yet.
Lunch was so lovely that I returned that same evening for dinner! I could not resist the idea of grilled asparagus, copper river salmon, and the first peaches from my home state of No California. Such a wonderful reminder that it really IS spring…somewhere. ha!