So many people have favorite memories of
dining at Cucina restaurant in Park Slope. Whether it was that
going away party for a colleague, or a small bar mitzvah or romantic
dinner for two, the 15-year-old eatery has been a reliable neighborhood
fixture. Now it’s even better.
An evening at Cucina is a worry-free experience. Diners find
their every need is attended to – especially their craving for
sophisticated Italian cuisine, bursting with flavor.
The amenities include valet parking – a significant service in
the no-parking-spots Slope – and a coat check, leaving you unfettered
from parking woes and shopping bags and able to snuggle into
one of the corner banquettes for a scrumptious, multi-course
meal delivered by a friendly, efficient waitstaff.
Tireless Chef Michael Fiore is in all places at once: on the
floor checking that customers needs are attended to and in the
kitchen overseeing the preparation of his comprehensive menu
that offers pastas (many of them freshly house-made), fish and
meat entrees.
This is a homecoming of sorts for Fiore, 29, a Culinary Institute
of America grad who is returning to Cucina after a three-year
absence. (He had previously toiled in Cucina’s kitchen for four
years under former executive chef Michael Ayoub.)
A Bay Ridge resident, Fiore has worked in Manhattan’s Park Avenue
Cafe with David Burke, at Becco and The Frico Bar with Lydia
Bastianich ("I learned a lot from her," Fiore said
of the television host and author), and last year, had a brief
stint at Bay Ridge’s Pazzo, where he opened the eatery with a
menu that garnered critical acclaim. (See the Feb. 4, 2002 GO
Brooklyn review here.)
Fiore returned to Cucina in May, and the neighborhood is showing
its appreciation by returning for dinner, takeout and private
parties.
"I just have to get them in here once," said Fiore.
At Cucina, it’s best to let the capable staff guide you. They
are skilled at everything from pairing winning wines with each
dish to sweeping in with a generous basket of fresh, artisanal
bread and focaccia and a plate of spicy olives to pulling together
astounding antipasto tasting platters.
Cucina still has the same golden lighting, tin ceiling and wooden
pizza paddles on the walls, with jazzy background music and cozy
beige banquettes, but Fiore still has plans to upgrade the interior
next year. He’s already revamped the wine list with many selections
from Italy. (Help him clean out his wine cellar by snapping up
discounted wines on Wednesdays.)
The "antipasto della Cucina" tasting plate was a generous
array of hors d’eouvres brimming with complementary flavors.
With roasted red peppers and the breaded and fried creamy ricotta
ball in the plate’s center (which serves to quench the fire from
the very garlicky, smoky broccoli rabe), as well as grilled asparagus,
buttery white button mushrooms, eggplant parmesan, refreshing
cubed beets, grilled zucchini, fresh mozzarella and tender soprassata
(mild pork sausage), this was a flashy exhibition of culinary
skill that raised our expectations – and effectively whetted
our appetites – for what was still to come.
The cold seafood salad appetizer of lobster and lump crabmeat,
topped with shrimp and glossy seaweed and surrounded by dollops
of red pepper vinaigrette, was a scrumptious mound of creamy,
sweet meat from the sea presented in a picture-perfect tower.
If one was yearning for comfort food, the crisp, stuffed saffron
rice ball, filled with a moist melange of ground veal, peas,
tomatoes and mozzarella, was a substantial, dense appetizer guaranteed
to please.
The "pizza alla griglio" was a more sophisticated version
of another comfort food. Served without tomato sauce on a cracker-thin
crust, the pizza was topped with asiago cheese, soprassata, parmesan
and drizzled truffle oil.
The pastas – whether the gloriously light spinach-and-cheese
ravioli with subtle sage and butter sauce; the earthy, creamy
wild mushroom risotto with parmesan and truffle butter; or the
wintry half-moon ravioli filled with braised veal in a Marsala
and truffle oil sauce – were so spectacular that they completely
and utterly eclipsed the uninspired rigatoni in a ragout of garlic,
sausage, tomatoes and cream.
But we haven’t yet told you of the grilled New Zealand lamb chops:
without the usual herb crust, they were served with a smoky,
rich barbecue sauce that betrayed Fiore’s knowledge of French
cooking techniques, learned at London’s Le Gavroche under Chef
Michael Roux. The chops were accompanied by crisp, cheesy gratin
potatoes and the garlicky broccoli rabe.
The chocolate bomb dessert arrived in a spectacular presentation
(dome shell surrounded by a starburst of drizzled chocolate),
and then it lived up to its name by exploding with so-rich-it-was-fruity
chocolate.
Cucina also offers those delicious Italian mainstays, cannoli
and tiramisu, but the peach crostada – a peach tart served warm
with lavender gelato – was a misfire. The strong flavor of lavender
only served to remind me of the sachets in my lingerie drawer
and seemed better suited to flavoring uneaten French pastilles
purchased solely for their decorative miniature tins.
In addition to sherries, ports and expertly prepared cappuccino
and espresso, Cucina has an array of after-dinner grappas.
Making a dinner reservation at Cucina is a surefire way to create
another perfectly memorable evening in Park Slope.
Cucina is located at 256 Fifth Ave.
at Carroll Street in Park Slope. The restaurant accepts American
Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Entrees: $14-$27. For
reservations, call (718) 230-0711. For more information, visit
the Web site at www.cucinarestaurant.com.
