Bite into them and be forever bitten by their flavours
Mark Laba
Province
General manager David Kipis (left) and executive chef Jeremy Atkins find a bottle that goes well with the carne and pesce platter, which includes grilled tiger prawns, scallopini, grilled lamb chop, roasted trout and baby arugula salad. Photograph by : Nick Procaylo, The Province
Jefferson Starship may have built a city on rock ‘n’ roll but this restaurant conglomerate is building an empire on meatballs. Well, almost. The Glowbal Group, which conceived of and owns and operates Glowbal, Afterglow, Sanafir, Coast and Italian Kitchen, has a new addition to its culinary dynasty with Italian Kitchen’s offspring in the form of this trattoria. Now granted, Coast specializes in seafood and Sanafir follows the old Spice Route but Glowbal and Italian Kitchen both have the phenomenal Kobe meatballs on the menu. And the question inevitably on the lips of those who have had the experience is, “Have you tried the meatballs yet?”
Peaches and I are no neophytes when it comes to these succulent orbs of beef and once smitten you’re forever bitten by their alluring flavour. You could almost say there’s a hint of licentiousness to their rotund personalities, like how sneaking a peek at Sophia Loren’s cleavage leaves you with a lifetime’s worth of fantasy.
The room itself is lasciviously decked out with a deconstructed Botticelli’s Venus on the Half-Shell and Michaelangelo’s David setting the tone. There’s a long open kitchen with all the pyrotechnics of gas-stove flare-ups and an amazing array of seating options, whether you plunk down at the communal table, hunker at the bar, opt for the more traditional dining-room setting or grab a banquette table. Peaches and I sat at the back surrounded by red reflective walls that seem part sci-fi, part boogie fever, with just a hint of debauchery. Fitting, as I dropped into the conversation of the two elderly guys with their wives next to us. While sharing the magnificent antipasto platter (eggplant parmigiana, Kobe meatballs, tiger prawns, osso bucco crochette, forno roasted clams, calamari with spicy tomato fonduta, Caprese salad and more), the two men discussed one guy’s visit to the Mustang Ranch in Nevada. Paid a visit just out of curiosity and the bouncer didn’t take too kindly to non-paying gawkers. I fell into that category myself as I gawked at the amazing array of appetizers on their platter.
The pizzas are terrific and also make for a great starter. Peaches and I tried the lamb sausage and chanterelle mushroom creation with peppered goat cheese and an egg baked into the middle ($12). Excellent crust to hold the blobs of goat curd and the sausage was superb.
Also sampled the Panzanella salad ($10), an Italian bread salad with heirloom tomatoes, grapes, celery, arugula, burrata cheese, which is an extra-creamy mozzarella, and chunks of Tuscan bread, the whole schlimazel drizzled with a Chianti vinaigrette. Served up warm, the ingredients release a different mesh of flavours at this temperature, like night blooming flowers on the Mediterranean.
Main event was spaghetti with Kobe meatballs in a spicy basil-flecked tomato sauce with garlic confit and ricotta, and the Veal Scaloppine with bresaola, fontina cheese and white wine (both $14). The meatballs need no further explanation and the veal was delightful in the way only eating baby animals can be, the salty cured beef known as bresaola imbedded as small discs in the three veal medallions and adding a smoky sweet tinge to the proceedings.
Pizzas, pastas and sharing platters are the best way to reap the ravishing rewards of this place, along with a bottle or two from their wonderful wine menu and a tiramisu to split the seams of your Hugo Boss pants.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
La dolce vita Vancouver.
RATINGS: Food: A Service: A Atmosphere: A
Review
Trattoria Italian Kitchen
Where: 1850 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-732-1441
Drinks: Fully licensed.
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.–midnight, Sat.-Sun., 10:30 a.m.–midnight
© The Vancouver Province 2008
