Z Cucina

You may have heard of Z Cucina before if you ever read Columbus Monthly. It was voted best new restaurant of 2005 by Columbus Monthly and has received attention from other publications as well. It is a small restaurant located on Grandview Ave across from Figlio. Z is owned by Rick Ziliak, owner of Pastaria in the North Market. If you don't know anything about Pastaria, it is pasta deli of sorts. They sell homemade pasta, mainly ravioli and gnocchi. The ravioli they make is wonderful! Adam and I have made pasta from Pastaria and a couple of times so we were anxious to try Z Cucina.

A couple of weeks before Valentine's Day, Adam attempted to make reservations for us. We were put on a waiting list and lucky got a reservation. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Z. It is kind of a mix of the trendy with the classic. All the tables have white tablecloths and candles. We were seated on the side of the restaurant that has the bar. The tables on this side are a little uncomfortable. They are the tall bistro type tables. Adam was a little uncomfortable in them.

Anyway, we started of course with drinks. Our server suggests a beer to us called Chamay. It is a Belgian trappist beer. A trappist beer is a beer that is brewed by monks. There are only 7 breweries in the world that can be called trappist. Adam loved Chamay and this has given him a new thing to obsess about, that being Belgian and trappist beers.

After drinks we started with an appetizer. We decided to try the Z Tavola, which is a sampler appetizer. It has 3 of their normal appetizers and 3 toppings for crostini which change from night to night. The 3 appetizer we tried were calamari, pan seared gnocchi, and mozzarella. The calamari was good. It was very tender and not over breaded or over fried. The mozzarella on the other hand was wonderful. It is homemade in the restaurant. It is topped with sun-dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, and basalmic vinegar. It is worth a trip to the restaurant alone. The pan seared potato gnocchi was also very good. It is pan seared in a butter sauce with mushrooms and sage. I think there is enough on the appetizer portion to made into a dinner! The crostini toppings for that evening were a mushroom mousse, artichoke and tomatoes, the 3 one is escaping me at the moment. We both really enjoyed the mushroom mousse. I think this appetizer would be best enjoyed with a group of friends. It was definitely a lot of food for just 2 of us, but I highly recommend it!

Since the appetizer wasz so large, we decided to skip salads and went directly to the entrees. Adam had the veal marsala which was accompanied by mushrooms and veal stuffed ravioli. If you enjoy veal you would like this dish. The veal was very thin, as it should be and the sauce was rich and tasty, but not too sweet. I think marsala can sometimes be too sweet. The ravioli, however, is the best part of this dish!

I went a similar route and had the beef tenderloin. I think this is probably one of the best things on the menu. It was served with steamed green beans and a kind of gorgonzola potato lasagna. Sounds a bit strange, but it was very good! The tenderloin was nice and thick, very juicy and flavorful. If you enjoy beef, as I do, you can't go wrong with the tenderloin.

Z Cucina offers a variety of dishes. They have several pasta choices as well as entrees. (Entrees being a serving of steak or fillet.) They have a daily fish option and also a duck entree that I have heard very good things about. I did not try any soup while I was there, but I have read other reviews that have raved about the daily soup offered there, apparently it is some of the best soup in the city(according to the Columbus Monthly review).

Z Cucina is an excellent spot for a quiet, romantic date or a great place to get together with friends and share a couple of dishes and drinks. I really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. I would gladly go again with anyone who wants to give it a try! Just give me a ring!