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The Brooklyn Paper / Daniel Krieger

Praise for ‘Bolognese’: Chef Mario Maligieri’s rigatoni with a tomato sauce of veal, pork and beef is a hit at Il Torchio in Fort Greene.

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If we thought places like this would open, we might have stuck around longer,” my husband said. He was referring to Il Torchio, an elegant new eatery that opened on Myrtle Avenue. When we lived in Fort Greene in the late 1980s, our one option on the avenue was bad Chinese ordered through a bulletproof window. Neither of us imagined that Myrtle Avenue and the streets nearby would experience a culinary renaissance.

As real estate developers and landlords in Brooklyn, cousins Frank and Peter Costabile were well aware of the “new” Clinton Hill. The two, who own the building that houses their cafe, gutted a former children’s clothing store and, eight months later, opened Il Torchio (Italian for “wine press”).

By late November, the second stage of the renovation will be complete. The expansion into the space next door will add 40 tables to the 30-seat eatery.

Il Torchio is gorgeous in a rustic, Florentine style. The ornate tin ceilings are high; tables are well spaced; and the floors and long bar reflect the patina of age one only sees with weathered wood. After a serene meal here with cosseting service, the noise we encountered on noisy Myrtle Avenue came as a shock.

The eatery opened in August with chef Charles Giangara (formerly of Convivium Osteria in Park Slope) behind the stove. Il Torchio possesses a rough-hewn decor similar to Convivium, as well as a menu that leans toward country-style cooking. But Giangara has left.

The new chef is Mario Maligieri who worked in the kitchens of the Medici at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and The View in Northport, New York.

My recent dinner at Il Torchio was a bumpy ride.

Maligieri is a fine technician who can turn out perfectly al dente pasta, sauces with depth, and a fish that is nice and crusty and cooked to a moist medium rare.

But a few of the dishes cried out for salt and something cohesive to unite the ingredients. Take the trio of sea scallops included in the tapas section of the menu. The mollusks were crusty outside and rare inside and the fried polenta cake that each sat upon was moist. Even with a smear of chickpea puree and a few drops of Balsamic vinegar that broke up the plate’s all beige color scheme, the under-seasoned fish, the bland grain and the bean dip never pulled together.

About the tapas: At Il Torchio, tapas are served in sizes that could double for light entrees with prices from $9 to $12. So much for nibbling from small plates.

“Tapas is a general term,” said Andrew Chew, the restaurant’s manager. For the time being, tapas as it’s offered at Il Torchio refers to a pre-entree dish. When renovations are completed, Chew says, the menu will be reworked to include tapas as I know it: small servings at smaller prices.

If you stick with a dish like the hearty rigatoni “Bolognese,” a rich mix of slow-cooked veal, pork and beef in a tart, fresh tomato sauce, you may avoid a problem I encountered with the entrees: Too many ingredients on the plate that don’t gel.

The special fish dish of the evening featured a polenta-coated salmon filet over crab-studded sauteed spinach. The salmon’s cornmeal crust was crisp but under-salted, adding little to the rich fish. I suppose the chef thought the salmon’s nutty flavor would complement the delicate, winy crabmeat, but it didn’t. The salmon on its own wasn’t bad; the nuggets of crab were lush; together: nothing. The spinach needed a lighter hand with the oil as well.

With a dish like the “vitello Napoletano” that heaped sauteed broccoli rabe, roasted red and green peppers as well as portobello mushrooms over tender scallops of veal, the subtle taste of the meat was lost. And, having covered the vegetable portion of the dish thoroughly, why add pieces of grilled Yukon gold potatoes to the already cluttered plate?

I was impressed with the organized wine list, and its prices included enough bottles in the $20 and $30 dollar range so a big splurge could be avoided.

There are no surprises among the desserts, just the standard gathering of Italian classics: tartufo, cannoli, cheesecake, tiramisu, sorbet and gelato. Our waiter said we’d love the tiramisu and, as tired as that dessert is, this version, with its layers of espresso-soaked sponge cake, shards of bittersweet chocolate and a thick crown of whipped cream, was outstanding.

Il Torchio is lovely place to while away an hour or so. For the restaurant to be more than just a pretty face, the menu needs to be edited and the food seasoned with confidence. If that happens, Clinton Hill will have one more winner to call its own.

Correction: The original version of this story identified Il Torchio as being located in Fort Greene. It is in Clinton Hill. The Paper apologizes for the error.

©2007 Community Newspaper Group