Dan Pitt’s Opinionated Compendium of Downtown Palo Alto Restaurants
Dan Pitt’s Opinionated Compendium of Downtown Palo Alto Restaurants
Mario Alessi and his partner Eduardo have finally opened Arte Ristorante (473 University), the follow-on to Cafe Renzo and Cafe Alto, where Mario was our favorite waiter. Michael Meyer Fine Woodworking of Palo Alto has provided much of the interior work and it is beautiful and unusual in many ways (including the bathroom sinks). The restaurant has opened softly with a limited but varied menu, all of which is artistically presented and reasonably priced. Even the steak (the most expensive item on the menu) is only $26 and is generous in size. I enjoyed the spinach and ricotta ravioli on a bed of chunky tomato sauce ($18). Our third companion loved the salmon piccata ($22), which is significant because fish was never Renzo’s strong suit. For starters we shared a caponatina (diminutive of caponata), an impressive construction of eggplant, zucchini, and other ingredients, for $9, and an insalata caprese (“originating in Capri”) sized for three at $14. The website (and full menu) are not up yet.
The wine list has a lot in common with Renzo’s. One side is Italian and quite extensive; the other side is Californian and almost as large. We stick to the Italian side. Both sides are organized into categories – by region on the left, varietal on the right – and listed in order of increasing price within each category. Prices vary a lot, and I would advise trying something you never heard of. We selected what must be the bargain of the bunch: an older vintage (2008?) Sagrantino di Montefalco, the finest red wine in all of Umbria, for a mere $39; the producer was Colpetrone. What a rare treat that was.
We met Eduardo, the chef that Mario brought over from Eduardo’s hometown of Siracusa, not far from Mario’s hometown of Messina, on the east coast of Sicily. That is why you will see some of the menu items in the style “Messinese”, from Messina.
The layout of the restaurant is changed only a little. To the left of the entrance is a lounge area instead of tables, the divider between the dining area and the bar area is now a mirror, and there is a glassed-in, temperature-controlled wine cellar in the left rear. Check out the stonework and the walls and of course Michael’s fine woodworking. You would be wise to dine there soon while it’s still largely unknown; once it gets busy it could get loud.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Arte Ristorante opens, quietly; it’s artistic indeed