Vincenzo’s Cucina Vera
Note: This restaurant is now closed.
Tonight’s feeding is at a degustation restaurant. Apparently there will be six courses tonight.
The deal here is that the chef just cooks some things for me. There’s no menu or choices, but they ask if there’s anything you don’t like. I told them of the evils of coriander.
Waitress is extraordinarily polite, demure and upbeat. Like a children’s show host. I don’t mind too much, however. :)
This lived up to its name. The “black ostralop egg” at the centre of this was only slightly runny, and went nicely with the toast-like flakes of panino and bacon. The flakes were light and crispy, and the bacon and panino had the same nice crispy texture. Having just two textures here really simplified the dish.
This has aged for 7.5 years.
Bread is also served with this. I’m told the prosciutto can be eaten with the bread, or on its own. However, this is a very typical Italian lunch, and Italians will bite into the prosciutto and then bite into the bread.
The prosciutto has almost completely escaped from its original taste and texture as meat. It has a very uniform and soft consistency, and has only a slight meaty and zingy taste. Much more subtle than other prosciutto. I feel like I’m eating sashimi.
- interstitial sweeping of crumbs (the sign of a real classy establishment) -
This has been fermented for five years. It has the consistency of runny custard, and the tangy taste of Parmesan cheese, but stronger. This just isn’t a particularly pleasant taste. The small asparagus in there don’t stand a chance against the concentrated liquid Parmesan goop. I don’t eat much of this.
Next course takes a long time to come.
The tentacles of the squid are cold – somewhat like a salad. They’re soft and squiddy. The main body of the squid is warm, and rolled up with parsley. I have a feeling the parsley is substituting for coriander, so it does seem slightly out of place here. However, the very soft squid is nice enough regardless.
This was a bit spicy for me. I think I forgot to mention chilli in my list of things I don’t like. :) There’s not a lot to say here. The broad beans had a soft but not mushy or beany taste or texture, and the gnocchi was soft and mildly flavoured.
Taking a fair while for the next course. Has probably been half an hour. As nice as it is to have many different courses, I’ve now been here for two and a half hours, and it’s 10pm. I’ve eaten the right amount of food for a main course, and the next course should be dessert, but my cutlery is a fork and very sharp (probably steak) knife.
As a feared – a giant steak.
Apparently thus is matured for thirty days. It’s not tough, but it is fairly solid. It has a very even texture, and is juicy, salty, and tasty. Unfortunately, I’ve already eaten enough, and I’ve been here for too long.
This is nice enough that I think I’ll adopt it. (i.e. take it home.) :)
Due to the dry aging, I am unable to adopt this steak.
With zabaione cream. Alcohol is marsala.
I’m instructed to eat it with my hands, which I do.
That was far better than I expected. The pastry was chewy and rough, and the clusters of sugar made it very sweet. The zabaione cream was rich and flavourful. This was probably the best eclair-type dessert I’ve had.
Even though I never drink, I don’t mind this marsala. It knocks my head off, but it tastes good. :)
Other than a few misses, the food tonight has been pretty good. Next time I come, I’ll just make sure I’m really hungry, and I’ll bring some good company, or preferably a tax return or some other work to do.
3:15 later, and I’m ready to go. I spend a while chatting to the waitress though. Many of the staff and chefs at these places are very much into the food scene, and are a good source of restaurant news and recommendations.
$124 all up.