I am a big fan of Chef Zack Bruell and his restaurants. The creativeness that goes into the food as well as the ingredients are truly a treat. Lastnight, my husband Kevin, is parents and brother went to Chinato on E. 4th, Zack Bruell's newest masterpiece. Chinato takes traditional Italian food and puts a contemporary twist on it. If you're thinking "Spaghetti and Meatballs" when I say Italian, you'll be in for a very pleasant surprise. The food was very traditional Italian, the way I described it to my father was, "not American Italian, but Italy Italian". Not sure if he understood me but I thought it descibed it better than just saying Italian. The decor is very clean and cozy modern. The kitchen is open and you can watch your food being prepared, which personally I love. The best part about the evening was seeing Chef Zack Bruell himself preparing our food before it arrived to our table.
We started with the Crudi and Antipasti. The Crudi was the raw part of the menu. Kevin and I tried the "Yellowtail with pesto and tomatoes". It was very fresh and practically melted in your mouth. The pesto was an essential part of the Yellowtail and complimented the flavor of the Yellowtail very nicely. The pesto was also a great bread dip.
For the Antipasti the waiter (who was very knowledgeable about the food and not to mention the service throughout the night was fantastic) suggested some of the best Antipasti dishes on the menu. We ordered 4 different Antipasti.
Involtini of Eggplant stuffed with ricotta and shrimp
Fried Baby Artichokes “Roman ghetto style”
Buratta with grilled toast and cold tomato basil sauce
And the last one is not on the online menu and I can't recall the name but it was a Fried Risotto...amazing.
All of the Antipasti were great, but I think next time I'll skip the Fried Baby Artichokes.
Dinner Time!
When I was looking at the menu online, I noticed the Walleye with Cod Mashed. But I couldn't figure out if the "cod mashed" was actually mashed cod or mashed potatoes with cod pieces in it. It turned out to be mashed potatoes with pieces of cod in it and was very good. It was breaded and deep friend like a patty. The walleye was very flaky and the flavor was perfect.
The Porchetta, a suggestion from the waiter, is what Kevin got and he practically licked his plate clean.
Kevin's mom got the Beef Braised in Amarone with creamy polenta and his dad ordered the Egg Battered Chicken Breast in brown butter and lemon. Kevin's brother ordered the Fettucinne Carbonara, which was delicious. I loved when the waiter explained the way the Carbonara is made. Instead of using a cream base, the in-house-made pasta is mixed with pasta water and a fresh egg. So simple yet so good!
We also got the Gnocci as a side for the table and those were very good.
By now you would think we'd be full, but the portions aren't huge so you get to taste a little bit of everything.
I can't resist dessert so we ordered 3 desserts.
Lemon Polenta Cake
Apple Torta
Pineapple with Vanilla Gelato
Out of the 3, my number 1 was The Apple Torta.
Honestly, I can't wait to go back!
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