It’s interesting how experience in one business translates
into behavior in another. Ristorante Grappa owner Anthony Valenti ran a DJ
business for two decades before trying his hand at a restaurant. Good DJs have
a sixth sense for pleasing people. Valenti brings that quality to being a
restaurateur, and it’s a perfect fit. He greets you cordially and pays
attention to the dining room during the meal, and his staff is excellent.
There is more to like than the feel. Grappa’s food is a
notch better than the Italian restaurant norm, but not so expensive that your
expectations go through the roof. Dr. Mike Bobrow and I started our meal with a
generous $9 portion of posillipo,
clams and mussels in a yummy garlic and white wine broth. It was salty in a
complementary way (more on saltiness later).
Eight dollars scored four huge tubes of calamari, lightly
breaded and grilled with a lemony vinaigrette. This is a dish for squid lovers,
not fried-food dilettantes; the squid isn’t rubbery, but there is a lot of it,
so be sure that’s what you want (or go with the fried calamari instead).
A tomato-and-onion soup (broth-based, not creamy) was deliciously,
organically sweet, but a bit too salty. My taste for salt has increased as I’ve
aged, and I wonder why some things (red meats, that posillipo, potatoes) seem
so right with salt as a primary flavor while in others (like this soup) the
salt seems distracting. Hard to say, but clearly chef Eric Eiseline does like
his salt. You be the judge.
Pastas range in price from $12 to $19 (the seafood options).
We tried a side of penne with Eiseline’s rosa sauce, a dynamite marinara mixed
a bit of cream. It was a highlight, and made us wish we’d ordered a full pasta
dish. We did have the risotto special, with five cheeses and a healthy hand of
basil, oregano, and especially sage. This was another salty dish, but the
texture of the risotto was spot on, creamy and nutty without a crunch, and the
sage gave it a heady aromatic character. Grilled shrimp skewered on rosemary
twigs and jazzed with old bay came on the side.
Grappa is an eau de vie made from grape residue after
winemaking. And Grappa, the restaurant, does serve several kinds (Mike tried an
almond-scented one and a strong but neutral-smelling variety). Eiseline
features it in veal grappa, veal sautรฉed in pancetta and herbs then covered in
a dense reduction of grappa and sun-dried cherries ($18). The sauce is complex
and intense, particularly good over the roasted potatoes on the side. The veal
itself wasn’t quite fork-tender, though.
The service for our dinner at Grappa was outstanding. Our
waitress was informative and had fun with us without being flirtatious.
Desserts made by Miche Chichester included an airy lemon meltaway cake and
cannoli with super-flaky crust (if a slightly dense filling). Espresso was
surprisingly good, full-flavored with little bitterness.
Lunch was a more mixed experience. Soup did not arrive
piping hot, a serious issue for Hot Soup Fascists like my companion, Isobel
Neuberger. Greens and beans, also tepid, were decent if uninspiring.
Having sampled many Italian assorted subs recently, I really
appreciated the Italian trio sandwich, with Genoa salami, sopressata, and
coppicola ($8 with roasted potatoes or salad). It was a cut above in several
respects: the quality of the meats, excellent greens, a good tomato, freshly
cut onion, shredded parmesan, and great, toasted bread. A bit on the pricey
side, but it delivered on quality.
I found dinner better than lunch at Grappa, but I enjoyed my
dinner enough to think the lunch experience might just have been bad luck.
Anthony Valenti has crafted a pleasant place to be, and he seems to have
infused his staff with his personal style of service. In addition to the
regular menus, Valenti also offers occasional wine dinners, with the next
coming on December 12 ($75; call for details). The word of mouth on Grappa is
excellent, and it’s a welcome alternative in the growing area of local
higher-end Italian fare.
Ristorante Grappa,
145 North Main Street, Fairport, 377-0240. Hours: lunch Tuesday to Friday,
11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner Tuesday to Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday
till 10 p.m., Sunday 4 to 8 p.m.
Food tip
News from the Finger Lakes: Ventosa Vineyards opened last
month on the northeast end of Seneca Lake, across 96A from the Rose Hill
Mansion (315-719-0000). The Tuscan-style tasting room has an informal
restaurant serving panini, soup, and salad. Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca is a new
restaurant just south of Ovid and Lodi, which features Viennese food in an
ultra modern building (607-582-7555). Photos and menus are at www.SavorLife.com
under The Grapevine.
— Michael Warren Thomas
Michael Warren Thomas can be heard weekends on WYSL 1040 AM.
This article appears in Nov 16-22, 2005.
