TU restaurant reviewer Ruth Fantasia visited the new Chianti

Tag : Pork Collar

TU restaurant reviewer Ruth Fantasia recently visited the newChianti.

The evening we dined, there was an eclectic mix of customers from astylish woman in gold lame sneakers and a sweater with a faux furcollar to young men in jeans and T-shirts, all of whom spawnedconversation in one way or another. And the tables are positionedso closely it’s impossible not to notice what others nearbyare eating, and downright rude not to acknowledge them. Therestaurant, which opened in April on Division Street in SaratogaSprings, replaced Zecchini’s previous establishment of thesame name that had long been a destination for people celebratingspecial occasions. Zecchini has said he wants this restaurant to bemore of a regular gathering place than the previous one, but hehasn’t turned to the Italian equivalent of pub grub to getthem there.

Many upscale Italian restaurants offer one carpaccio. Here, you canchoose from five preparations of raw, or nearly raw, beef. We chosethe Del Chianti ($10), a large oval plate covered with paper-thinslices of tenderloin topped with a warm Gorgonzola cream sauce andan excess of truffle oil that made dining a drippy proposition. Andwhile flavors complemented each other well, plating this dish on aplatter with a sloping rim meant if you tried to rest your knife orfork on the side of the dish, it slid into the oil.
We also started with the fried calamari ($9), a pretty standardversion of the popular appetizer; this was a platter full of ringsand tentacles, lightly fried and served with a basic tomato sauce.It was a well-prepared dish, but rather unremarkable.

If you’re going to choose between an appetizer and a saladhere, go with the latter. I tried the Lattughella ($8), acombination of light Boston lettuce, Gorgonzola and crispy dicedprosciutto. The combination was great, but the white balsamicvinaigrette was also a little too oily, having little vinegarflavor. My husband’s choice, the Valtellina ($9), withbresaola - a cured beef - arugula, candied apples, hazelnuts andpomegranate dressing was, on the other hand, perfect. Betweencourses we were entertained by the wait staff singing “HappyBirthday” in Italian to the woman in gold sneakers. Unlikechain restaurants where the melodic greeting is something akin to afootball cheer, at Chianti it comes out more like a Gregorianchant.

Entree offerings include a large assortment of pasta and risottodishes, all priced at $19 or less. Some are available in smallerportions for between $6 and $9. Plates dominated by meats, poultryand fish are served with roasted potatoes and fresh spinach, andcost between $14 and $25.

A person could have a complete meal here for about $30, just aboutwhat you’d pay at a more casual restaurant, but no onesitting near us even tried. With the exception of one woman, whopassed on both the appetizer and dessert, everyone ordered at leasttwo courses, most went for three. And many people left carryingto-go containers.
Our entrees, the chicken breast with apples and rosemary ($17) anda pork osso buco ($24), both were hearty portions that could haveeasily been meal in themselves. Of the two, the chicken, a savory,herb-scented delight finished in a white wine sauce, was thefavorite. It was moist and tender with a rich, mouth-fillingcharacter. The pork shank, served on the bone and looking likesomething Fred Flintstone would relish, was braised into tendernessand equally rich.