Dining Review

Kathy Mader

In order for this town to fully embrace another Italian restaurant, it

would have to be not only authentic, but unique, creative and inventive

-- the type of place where eating is a pleasure and an adventure, and

something not to be rushed.

Zucchero Ristorante, located where the Stuffed Noodle used to be on

Riverside Drive in Newport Beach, will very soon be just that. Open for

only a month and a half, there are bound to be some glitches, but

Zucchero will soon be recognized by the long lines out front.

Any place named after sugar, both literally and as an endearment, has

its possibilities. And although Zucchero is still very new, the potential

is all there.

Zucchero was founded on the ‘showcase for all the regions’ philosophy,

taking the best dishes from each area of Italy, restrained only by the

country’s borders, and bringing them to customers, said Zucchero’s

owner/executive chef, Franco DeRosa. DeRosa promises that with the

help of his chef, Sean Adams, the menu will be constantly evolving, with

several specials each night, as he continues his discoveries and passes

them on to his patrons. He promises that he is not ‘out to scare anybody’

but simply to introduce the California diner to bona fide Italian

cuisine.

The appetizer menu is an event in itself. Again, this place is not a

spaghetti and meatball house and you won’t find your personal version of

the standards. For example, they do indeed serve calamari, not

deep-fried, and not in circles, but stuffed with olives and garlic and

served with a grilled polenta cake in a garlic parsley sauce ($7.95).

The bruschetta rustica ($6.95) is served on crusty, grilled bread and

made with roasted peppers and smoked mozzarella. Only one problem here:

It is not all you can eat. I can’t wait to get back to try the vitello

tonnato, thinly sliced veal topped with a tuna caper sauce, and the

antipasta-misto, grilled vegetables with mozzarella and prosciutto

drizzled with truffle oil. My oh my.

The risotto del giorno or risotto of the day -- there will usually be

two -- was a porcini mushroom dish highlighted with bay scallops.

Mushroom lovers, this is your dish, rich and substantive.

We were served a small sample of the ravioli all anatra ($12.95), a

chewy ravioli stuffed with ground duck and spices, enhanced with a light

parmesan truffle sage sauce. Order this.

Finally we shared the maiale alla griglia ($16.95), a double-cut pork

chop over a grilled potato cake. If you serve the freshest ingredients,

you do not need to hide it with sauce, and just the slight amount of wine

and onion reduction drizzled around the side of this dish proves

Zucchero’s confidence in their product.

Franco is of the school where each plate is a gift to the customer,

and the waiters treat them as such. As our waiter, Giovanni, five years

out of Rome, handed us our main entree, he said in his heavy accent with

all the drama of an Italian opera, ‘This is so beautiful it makes me want

to cry.’

I saved my tears for dessert. In a rare moment of foresight -- I have

so few of these that this is worth mentioning -- we asked Franco to

select our desserts. Living up to Zucchero’s vision of unique, while

recognizing that nature is still one of the most beautiful creators, he

brought us a frozen peach with a light icy frost on the outside, and a

sherbet made from the same peach on the inside, all topped with a sprig

of mint. Truly splendid. However, if your dessert needs require more

substance and texture, try the torte la nona, a lemon and almond pastry

dusted with powdered sugar and named after grandma. Mercy.

DeRosa went to culinary school in Italy and then traveled around

Europe learning the trade secrets, finally coming to America in search of

his boyhood dream, his own restaurant. When the Stuffed Noodle location

became available, Franco remodeled the whole thing himself, paint and

all. You can find him on most nights walking from table to table,

introducing himself and greeting folks.

Zucchero seeks to offer the complete dining experience, not the place

to go before a movie or show, but when you want to relax, visit, maybe

work on a little romance, and most importantly, experience good food and

wine. After all, what could be more romantic than that?

Side note: Apparently the ‘cell phone at the table’ crowd thinks

something may actually be more romantic than that, as several people

answered their ringing phones during the course of the evening while

their dates waited in the classic cell phone stupor -- a direct result of

not knowing if your date would rather be somewhere else with someone

else.

It was our treat to chat with the staff of Zucchero before it becomes

one of the hottest tickets in town. With already a small wait on the

weekends, come down to Zucchero before the word spreads like a melting

mozzarella.

And leave the phones at home.

WHERE: 215 Riverside Drive, Newport Beach

WHEN: Monday through Friday, 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 5 to

11:30 p.m.

HOW MUCH: moderate

PHONE: (949) 646-2333