| While it’s fun to nip into a restaurant along such busy streets as 17th Avenue S.W.or Stephen Avenue Mall, there’s also something romantic about dining in a lone restaurant far away from all the action.
Located in a cute yellow house at the corner of Eighth Street and Fourth Avenue S.W., Abruzzo Ristorante offers a charming and familial setting. After passing through a big, wooden cellar door, you’ll find yourself in a cozy Italian home with stucco walls, mounted wall plates, cork wreaths and lace window curtains.
Abruzzo (402 Eighth Street S.W.; phone 237-5660) also gives a touch of elegance to its interior by providing starched linen napkins and white linen tablecloths. The restaurant’s top two tables are located alongside the windows in the adjoining dining rooms and set slightly apart from the rest of the tables. Abruzzo has a patio, too, though the days of eating al fresco are sadly drawing to a seasonal end.
To begin with, our table of four ordered the fresh caprese salad ($9.90), which is big enough for two, and the Caesar salad for two ($12 large, $6.25 small). Its anchovy Caesar dressing was quite nice and not overly fishy, as it often tends to be elsewhere. Abruzzo features traditional Italian cuisine, so the menu offers no surprises: what you will find are the oldies-but-goodies in veal, fish and pasta dishes. Its wine list features an impressive selection of whites from Italy, France, Germany and California, ranging from $28.50 to $195.
From the pasta section, we chose the linguine alle vongole ($12.95), angel hair linguine tossed in a light garlic and white wine sauce with a generous portion of baby clams that added a fun, chewy texture to each mouthful. I’ve enjoyed this dish at many Italian restaurants. So far none have strayed from this tried-and-true recipe, though some diners may find it a bit oily.
Next came the stracci ($12.95) – ricotta and parmigiano cheese-filled pasta crêpes with an infusion of spinach for colour that’s baked in a tomato béchamel sauce. While the stracci may resemble lasagna in appearance, it’s a more delicately composed dish using milder cheese. Of the 10 veal dishes, my date selected the tender veal pizzaiola ($18.95) in garlic and white wine. Its light, tangy tomato sauce contrasted nicely with the bitter capers.
The evening’s fish special was a beautifully presented poached halibut dressed in a lovely Dijon mustard and white wine sauce, accompanied by grilled prawns, vegetables and a small dish of pasta ($28.95).
To be a bit nitpicky, the timing was slightly off throughout our meal. For example, the butter was placed on our table shortly after we were seated but the bread didn’t follow for some time. The wine took a while to reach our table, and the caramelized crème brûlée arrived, and was nearly finished, before our coffee was served.
Our dinner reservation was for eight o’clock and, by 9:15 p.m., we were the last patrons in the restaurant. This empty restaurant syndrome has occurred numerous times to us in Calgary. Would someone please tell me why our city’s downtown restaurants clear out so early?
In this case, it was clearly no fault of Abruzzo. Our party of four enjoyed great food, good spirits and cherished company in a warm, hospitable environment. Now that’s amore! |
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