Apparently the new hot-spot in Edmonton’s rapidly warming food scene, Corso 32 is Chef Daniel Costa’s homage to old-style Italian cuisine. With its reputation as a place to get great food as well as see and be seen, combined with its scant 32 seats (get it?), it can be quite difficult to secure a table on any given evening. After a few abortive attempts, we were able to sneak in last Friday night and see what all the hype was about. I apologize in advance for some of the pictures, the lighting was quite dim and I am not yet an expert photographer.
The restaurant, although not especially easy to find, is very modern and attractive. The atmosphere is cozy, with almost a communal dining feel due to the close proximity of the tables – whether you are sitting at the front shared table or not. Our coats were taken and we sat down to enjoy a refreshing aperitif and study the small but varied menu. I am a fan of the small and constantly changing menu school of thought. It allows a chef greater freedom to try new dishes and ideas and to make proper use of seasonal ingredients (especially local ones).
After some consideration, I selected the arancini, a stuffed rice ball with a crispy fried coating, to start. These particular ones were stuffed with pork belly and fontina cheese. The arancini we good, but I found the tiny sliver of pork belly in each ball a little disappointing, especially because I love pork belly in all its forms. Other than that, the crust was crispy and the cheese nicely melted, so they didn’t last long on the plate/bowl.
Kasia chose the beet soup with pistachios and ricotta. She very much enjoyed her soup, and after having a taste I can see why. The flavour and texture were smooth and delicate, and the pistachios and ricotta complemented the beet flavour very well.
I should also note that we ordered a very nice Tuscan red from their impressive Italian wine list. The Fattoria Petrolo Toscana Torrione 2007 was medium-bodied and full of fruit, with just a touch of rustic flavour to accent the foods we were eating. Like most traditional Tuscans, this particular wine is made from Sangiovese, one of the famous Italian grapes.
Quite promptly, our main dishes arrived, but with a little hiccup. Just as they were set down in front of us, we were asked to move tables to accommodate a larger party that was supposed to arrive shortly. This was a definite first for me at this calibre of restaurant. I can understand this happening at certain restaurants, but I am not used to having to move partway through my meal. I can also appreciate the need to maximize revenue in so small a space, but being asked to move aside for a more profitable group was off-putting.
As for the food, Kasia went with one of the house specialties, the polpette, a large meatball studded with raisins and pinenuts, topped with a tomato sauce on a bed of chard. It was quite nice, although probably not something that I would order.
After some deliberation, I went with the nightly feature, a vinegar-cured strip steak, served with a light horseradish cream and topped with shredded beet roots and greens. It was decent, but like so many other restaurant steaks I have encountered before, it was simply good, not great. The beets were a nice touch, and the beautiful colours caused by the mix of white and deep red-purple definitely added to the eye appeal.
All of the desserts sounded great, but we finally settled on the olive oil cake, with blood oranges and marscapone. I would have to pick this as my favorite dish of the evening, with the creamy marscapone, fluffy cake and tart blood orange segments complementing each other perfectly. The side of barrel-aged grappa for me and ruby port for Kasia didn’t hurt either.
Quite stuffed, one other peculiarity occurred as we got up to leave. Instead of retrieving our coats for us, we were directed to the back of the restaurant to grab them ourselves. I definitely found this odd, considering that they took our coats when we sat down and now could not be bothered to return them to us.
Outside of the aforementioned oddities, we did have a good time at Corso 32. The meal was decent, but perhaps a little overshadowed by the hype surrounding the restaurant. From reading the menu, it appears that Costa’s ideas are good. I would have to try a few more dishes to truly say if they are any exceptional ones among them. That said, I would eat there again, but probably wouldn’t be in any great rush to do so.
dustonthebottle 