NO LONGER IN BUSINESS - Now operating as Los Chicos
Dacquisto Cucina Tradizionale
1715 Kenaston Boulevard, 204-938-2229
www.wowhospitality.com
March, 2009
Wow Hospitality stands as one of Winnipeg’s great restaurant success stories with a firm reputation for good service and excellent food. For years, Pasta La Vista (PLV) reigned as one of the most recognisable cogs of the Wow locomotive. Today, the original PLV in Eaton Place exists as a Boston Pizza and the follow-up location reincarnates as Dacquisto Cucina Tradizionale. Dacquisto religiously follows an Italian theme and highlights Tuscan cuisine made from fresh and authentic ingredients.
Nestled among the budding shops of the Kenaston power mall, neither Dacquisto’s exterior nor interior changed much since its rebirth. The interior features dark woods and subdued lighting, yielding a cozy and romantic atmosphere. The fireplaces and the prominent wood oven in the back of the restaurant augment the warmth of the dining room. The decidedly Italian background music alternates between accordion-based traditional with classical opera. The operatic arias seem a little lofty for this setting; I recommend sticking with the European traditional sounds.
Dacquisto’s extensive wine list features exclusively Italian wines. While the generous list houses an array of wines that are capable of complementing any cuisine, I find the confinement to Italian selections limiting. Italy produces some of the greatest wines in the world, but being the largest producer of wine, Italy also pumps out some of the world’s great plonks. Whereas the wine menu hosts some good, and some great wines, diners wanting wines by the glass must settle for something closer to the plonk end of the continuum (although I was happy to see Velletri sitting on the by-the-glass menu). Casual diners and novice wine drinkers don’t know the difference between DOC and DOCG, nor do they care. These diners feel comforted by a glass of Little Penguin or Yellowtail and Dacquisto shuts the door on these selections.
Dacquisto’s menu boasts a bountiful selection of appetisers, including most of their main courses, which can be ordered as an appetiser. As a warning, the appetiser portions are meant to be appetisers and will not satisfy most diners as a main course. In today’s age of gluttony, many restaurants heap portions, enough to satisfy tri-athletes, thus prompting diners to seek half-orders for a reasonable amount of food. Dacquisto’s portions are small—the full servings aren’t generous and the appetiser servings only act as an intro to another dish. In this respect, Dacquisto follows the European tradition where no one takes leftovers home and half the population isn’t morbidly obese. Bravo, but I wonder if Winnipeggers will accept these portion sizes? Winnipeggers want bang for their buck, which usually means enough for lunch the next day.
The meal starts with two types of delicious breads: a plain baguette, which is light on the inside and has a deliciously crunchy crust; and a dense loaf, teeming with bits of olives. Both taste wonderful. The bread comes with a vegetable spread and olive oil. The spread, composed primarily of a tomato paste and olives, tastes rich and deep. However, the oil lacks depth, flavour and character. Since butter is nowhere to be found, Dacquisto should consider using a higher grade of extra virgin olive oil as the bread’s accompaniment.
True Italian food relies on the essence of food’s flavours, rather than rely on the influence of complicated sauces. Nothing tastes better than a dish of carpaccio when talking about the naked nature of food tastes. Dacquisto’s carpaccio is veal that comes with a coating of olive oil, thinly sliced parmesan cheese and cracked capers. The tender wafers of veal melt beautifully with the oil, on which they didn’t skimp here. This is the oil where you want to savour every last drop onto your dripping slices of bread. The veal coupled with the cheese and caper, drenched in the wonderful contributes to the perfect bite every time.
For a follow-up, I choose the appetiser portion of the clams with homemade sausage and fettuccini in a white wine sauce. I half expected the meal to come with a rich and thick cream sauce that often accompanies Italian white sauces. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about using heavy cream in sauces—it’s a great way to add body to a sauce when it’s a little shy on flavour. There isn’t a drop of cream in this sauce, which is perfect; the delicious sauce draws its body from the wonderful juices of the clams and cream would simply overcome the nuances of the flavours. The hint of anise provides a perfect herbaceous edge to this divine sauce. Whenever I order a clam sauce, I anticipate the sauce to have an abundance of baby clams (usually from a can). Again, there’s nothing wrong with canned baby clams, but you feel a little short-changed to pay restaurant prices for canned ingredients. Dacquisto doesn’t skimp here either as the clams come plump and juicy. I know no bigger shame than to have to look at an overcooked clam, shrivelled, dried and sinewy. There is no such disaster here. Every plump clam oozes with the essence of its own flavours and juices; they’re absolutely, perfectly done.
The sausage in the dish tastes a little dry and flavourless, which surprisingly isn’t bad. After all, I wouldn’t want a powerful sausage to drown out the gorgeous flavours of the clams; however, including this insipid sausage into this dish seems unnecessary. Skip the sausage, add a few more clams and we would have many happy customers. Finally, a word about the fettuccini: Dacquisto’s pasta has thin noodles that have a nice al dente crunch to them. It’s an innovative idea that doesn’t quite work. In the end, the pasta ends up tasting more like a Chinese noodle, rather than an Italian noodle. This dish has a few flaws but overall, it’s still a commendable effort.
The meat selections only come in main course size, which still aren’t unreasonably large. We opt for the slow roasted pork (suckling pig), which comes in a delicate glaze. Again, Dacquisto wants to emphasise the essential flavours of the meat, rather than rely on sauces. The sauce has a mild, oniony edge, with a soy-like accent. The sauce couples nicely with the pork, which tenderly falls apart under fork. The pork itself doesn’t have a lot of flavour, thus leaving the entire dish a little flat.
Both the carpaccio and the pork dishes come with wild greens (dandelions) which taste sharp and tangy. The beautiful olive oil blends perfectly with the vegetables, creating a wonderful and attractive side to the dishes. Even if you’re not a vegetable fan, don’t skip out on the greens. Finally, the dessert changes daily but we passed on it this time.
The appetiser-sized pastas run close to the $20 range while the full servings average mid to high $20s. The meat courses start in the low $20s and go up to $40 a plate. Dacquisto charges top-end prices but I’m not sure they deliver like Winnipeg’s top-end restaurants. For similar prices, I think I’d stick with Amici.
** ½ /5
1715 Kenaston Boulevard, 204-938-2229
www.wowhospitality.com
March, 2009
Wow Hospitality stands as one of Winnipeg’s great restaurant success stories with a firm reputation for good service and excellent food. For years, Pasta La Vista (PLV) reigned as one of the most recognisable cogs of the Wow locomotive. Today, the original PLV in Eaton Place exists as a Boston Pizza and the follow-up location reincarnates as Dacquisto Cucina Tradizionale. Dacquisto religiously follows an Italian theme and highlights Tuscan cuisine made from fresh and authentic ingredients.
Nestled among the budding shops of the Kenaston power mall, neither Dacquisto’s exterior nor interior changed much since its rebirth. The interior features dark woods and subdued lighting, yielding a cozy and romantic atmosphere. The fireplaces and the prominent wood oven in the back of the restaurant augment the warmth of the dining room. The decidedly Italian background music alternates between accordion-based traditional with classical opera. The operatic arias seem a little lofty for this setting; I recommend sticking with the European traditional sounds.
Dacquisto’s extensive wine list features exclusively Italian wines. While the generous list houses an array of wines that are capable of complementing any cuisine, I find the confinement to Italian selections limiting. Italy produces some of the greatest wines in the world, but being the largest producer of wine, Italy also pumps out some of the world’s great plonks. Whereas the wine menu hosts some good, and some great wines, diners wanting wines by the glass must settle for something closer to the plonk end of the continuum (although I was happy to see Velletri sitting on the by-the-glass menu). Casual diners and novice wine drinkers don’t know the difference between DOC and DOCG, nor do they care. These diners feel comforted by a glass of Little Penguin or Yellowtail and Dacquisto shuts the door on these selections.
Dacquisto’s menu boasts a bountiful selection of appetisers, including most of their main courses, which can be ordered as an appetiser. As a warning, the appetiser portions are meant to be appetisers and will not satisfy most diners as a main course. In today’s age of gluttony, many restaurants heap portions, enough to satisfy tri-athletes, thus prompting diners to seek half-orders for a reasonable amount of food. Dacquisto’s portions are small—the full servings aren’t generous and the appetiser servings only act as an intro to another dish. In this respect, Dacquisto follows the European tradition where no one takes leftovers home and half the population isn’t morbidly obese. Bravo, but I wonder if Winnipeggers will accept these portion sizes? Winnipeggers want bang for their buck, which usually means enough for lunch the next day.
The meal starts with two types of delicious breads: a plain baguette, which is light on the inside and has a deliciously crunchy crust; and a dense loaf, teeming with bits of olives. Both taste wonderful. The bread comes with a vegetable spread and olive oil. The spread, composed primarily of a tomato paste and olives, tastes rich and deep. However, the oil lacks depth, flavour and character. Since butter is nowhere to be found, Dacquisto should consider using a higher grade of extra virgin olive oil as the bread’s accompaniment.
True Italian food relies on the essence of food’s flavours, rather than rely on the influence of complicated sauces. Nothing tastes better than a dish of carpaccio when talking about the naked nature of food tastes. Dacquisto’s carpaccio is veal that comes with a coating of olive oil, thinly sliced parmesan cheese and cracked capers. The tender wafers of veal melt beautifully with the oil, on which they didn’t skimp here. This is the oil where you want to savour every last drop onto your dripping slices of bread. The veal coupled with the cheese and caper, drenched in the wonderful contributes to the perfect bite every time.
For a follow-up, I choose the appetiser portion of the clams with homemade sausage and fettuccini in a white wine sauce. I half expected the meal to come with a rich and thick cream sauce that often accompanies Italian white sauces. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about using heavy cream in sauces—it’s a great way to add body to a sauce when it’s a little shy on flavour. There isn’t a drop of cream in this sauce, which is perfect; the delicious sauce draws its body from the wonderful juices of the clams and cream would simply overcome the nuances of the flavours. The hint of anise provides a perfect herbaceous edge to this divine sauce. Whenever I order a clam sauce, I anticipate the sauce to have an abundance of baby clams (usually from a can). Again, there’s nothing wrong with canned baby clams, but you feel a little short-changed to pay restaurant prices for canned ingredients. Dacquisto doesn’t skimp here either as the clams come plump and juicy. I know no bigger shame than to have to look at an overcooked clam, shrivelled, dried and sinewy. There is no such disaster here. Every plump clam oozes with the essence of its own flavours and juices; they’re absolutely, perfectly done.
The sausage in the dish tastes a little dry and flavourless, which surprisingly isn’t bad. After all, I wouldn’t want a powerful sausage to drown out the gorgeous flavours of the clams; however, including this insipid sausage into this dish seems unnecessary. Skip the sausage, add a few more clams and we would have many happy customers. Finally, a word about the fettuccini: Dacquisto’s pasta has thin noodles that have a nice al dente crunch to them. It’s an innovative idea that doesn’t quite work. In the end, the pasta ends up tasting more like a Chinese noodle, rather than an Italian noodle. This dish has a few flaws but overall, it’s still a commendable effort.
The meat selections only come in main course size, which still aren’t unreasonably large. We opt for the slow roasted pork (suckling pig), which comes in a delicate glaze. Again, Dacquisto wants to emphasise the essential flavours of the meat, rather than rely on sauces. The sauce has a mild, oniony edge, with a soy-like accent. The sauce couples nicely with the pork, which tenderly falls apart under fork. The pork itself doesn’t have a lot of flavour, thus leaving the entire dish a little flat.
Both the carpaccio and the pork dishes come with wild greens (dandelions) which taste sharp and tangy. The beautiful olive oil blends perfectly with the vegetables, creating a wonderful and attractive side to the dishes. Even if you’re not a vegetable fan, don’t skip out on the greens. Finally, the dessert changes daily but we passed on it this time.
The appetiser-sized pastas run close to the $20 range while the full servings average mid to high $20s. The meat courses start in the low $20s and go up to $40 a plate. Dacquisto charges top-end prices but I’m not sure they deliver like Winnipeg’s top-end restaurants. For similar prices, I think I’d stick with Amici.
** ½ /5
Comments
Post a Comment