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One of the more highly anticipated new restaurants of the year opened its doors about two hours ago.
After an extensive rehab of the former Duff's at 392 N. Euclid in the CWE, the owners of Cucina Pazzo (left) welcomed friends and family into the 130 seat restaurant last night. Pazzo (Italian for "crazy") opened appropriately, the way most new restaurants do: bottles were still being shoved into beer coolers just as the first diners arrived.
There are a lot of opinions regarding the best way to open a restaurant. In Pazzo's case, managing partner Brant Baldanza and partner/chef Justin Haifley (part of a partnership that owns The Tavern Kitchen & Bar, The Shack, and two locations of The Corner Pub & Grill) elected to "soft" open by giving a 50% discount on food Wednesday and Thursday night, November 13 and 14.
In return for their largesse, all that's requested is some honest criticism. The 130-seat restaurant will open for normal business on Friday and Saturday. Beginning next Monday, Pazzo will be open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Sunday Brunch begins on November 24.
Duff's restaurant was cherished by many locals, so the partners intention was to preserve as much of its character as possible. Realistically, though, the only recognizable detail that remained was the dramatic brick archway (below) separating the bar (below left) from the dining room (below right).
The menu (not yet online but shown below) leans toward smaller plates ($6-$16), with a smattering of entrees (served after 5 pm), from an $18 grilled pork porterhouse to a San Francisco-priced $36 cioppino. The left side of the menu contains an assortment of bruschetta (or "toasts"), several salads, sides, and a selection of appetizers (or "sfizi," which translates to "whims").
On night one, the best item sampled was the veal and beef Meatballs al Forno (below left), capped with Fontina and underlaid with a kicky tomato sauce and Anson Mills grits. The most unusual dish was the Bacon Caramelle (below right), a trio of bacon-and-balsamic-onion--stuffed and twisted noodles napped in a bleu cheese cream sauce.
Pasta ($12-17), both handmade and imported, arrives in smaller, but ample portions. Bavette Cacio e Pepe (below left), the simple "cheese and pepper" pasta staple seen around town at places like Basso and Pastaria, comes with a break-apart parmesan tuile. Despite the addition of goat cheese, the Bolognese-topped Rigatoni al Forno (below right) was the most straightforward dish of the evening.
The 12-bottle beer list seems more weighty than the 14 beers on tap, as the majority of the latter are from A-B or A-B owned. The glass reds on the Italian-red-heavy opening wine list impressed, especially since all were served at cellar temperature, something even the more upscale restaurants inexplicably fail to do.
The noise level at Pazzo can be accurately described as "spirited" in the bar, front dining room, and at the seven seats at the kitchen counter, but it's far less pazzo in the adjacent dining room-- diners who think a cacophonous din is a design feature in all new restaurants will be pleasantly surprised.
