Cioppino's

thee perfect spot to wine and dine...

Food:

a taste of heaven:
 Pan Seared Foie Gras with a decadent, fruit jelly

Christmas dinner #2's locale was a solid pick from the very start.  As Vancouver Magazine's 2009 'restaurant of the year', and after seeing and hearing about the divine eats that popular local chef, Pino Posteraro delivers, I feel like I've oughed to try this place eons ago!

Beef Carpaccio

We started off with a wonderful Pan Seared Foie Gras appetizer (on special) as well as the Beef Carpaccio.  I must applaud myself for these two picks as they were both phenomenally appetizing.  I simply could not have passed up the foie gras, as it was pan seared (and only the best way of preparing foie gras).  It was perfectly seared, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, light, buttery tasting and simply delectable. (I wasn't able to take a picture of the Foie Gras appetizer as a whole because the server had separated a portion for us individually).  Paired with a piece of nicely, toasted, buttery-soaked french bread and topped with some kind of decadent jelly - what I would give to just have a taste of this again! Definitely one of the highlights of the night.  The Beef Carpaccio was to-die-for.  Thinly sliced, beautifully-presented with a nice, light mustard dressing and topped with parmigiano-reggiano and arugula.  I couldn't ask for a better start.

Pappardelle
with 4-hour braised veal cheeks and porcini mushrooms

 For my main, I had the Pappardelle with the 4-hour braised veal cheeks and porcini mushrooms.  The flavour was bang-on, and the veal cheeks were super tender and flavourful.  The one complaint I had was that the pasta was a little undercooked (not al dente) and tasted quite hard, I must say! The other entrees I sampled were the Garganelli "alla Norcina" with boar sausage and preserved Winter truffles (best entree of the night), the Veal Medallions (yum) and the Potato Gnocchi "alla Napoletana" in tomato sauce and mozarella di bufala (mmm...)

Garganelli "alla Norcina"
(topped with a copious amount of Parmigiano-Regiano goodness)

  To end our lovely meal, we decided on the Warm "soft heart" Chocolate Cake with vanilla custard and ice cream, as well as Pino's version of the Mascarpone made with tiramisu, coffee macaroon and a really dark, rich chocolate sorbet.  The desserts were nicely-presented, very light and satisfying.

A lovely end to a lovely meal

Service:

Fine service - Pino also wanders throughout the dining room ensuring patrons are enjoying themselves - seems like a nice man!

Value:

Definitely a place for celebrations and what not - although I thought the pricing of the pasta was fair

Ambience:

Nice, elegant looking dining room with red-bricked walls, oiled paintings and an open kitchen, noise level was a big louder than what I expected, which I preferred :)

Overall: 8.3/10

Yay: Fine, wonderfully-executed Italian (and Mediterranean) cuisine, come here for the delicious pasta, their wine encyclopedia (!) and the romantic ambience

Nay: Yaletown - parking, $$$

***Interesting fact: Cioppino's has attracted some big celebrity names, like Jennifer Aniston, Bill Clinton...







Posted by: J