691 Corydon Avenue
(204) 453-4616
May, 2010
Winnipeg embraces Corydon Avenue’s Little Italy segment as the place to be to sit outside, see and be seen. The combination of Saffron’s, Red Cactus and Civita sits at the heart of activity on Corydon where the crowds jostle to perch on the patios. In addition to (or because of) the great location, the trio of eateries also boasts the dubious reputation of serving bad food. Whereas the location sells itself, why do you need to bother with extra effort on the meals? Today, we settle onto Civita’s front patio to confirm or dispel the myth.
On hot, summer days, the sidewalk front would roar with activity as revellers soak up the spirit or shop the urban meat market. Today’s overcast, sprinkly skies quell the commotion but a fair smattering of people persists on the patio. If you want to enjoy some time in the area without the ruckus and riots of the crowds, pick a rainy day under a patio umbrella and you’ll relax to the pitter-patter of raindrops.
Our friendly server brings a beverage to quench the humid air. For beverages, Civita offers a number of pleasant wines by the glass, in addition to your choice of sunny weather drinks.
For starters, we have the scallops, plainly seared in butter. I find the scallops a little on the small side, being about the size of a quarter. Nevertheless, they come perfectly cooked, crispy, caramelised and brown on the outside, juicy and rare on the inside. The citrusy dressing provides a wonderful complement.
The candied rib tips appetisers taste a tad dry but the flavour overcomes this shortcoming. The sweetness of the sugar coating gives nice contrast to the savoury nature of the ribs. As with most rib dishes, you don’t get very much meat and a lot of bone, but the meat that you do get is worth the effort of getting it off the bone.
The Caesar salad comes as a quartered head of romaine lettuce, with the dressing on the side. The interesting and appealing presentation makes a nice conduit for the rich and creamy dressing. Many will avoid the core, which means you don’t get very much salad but you probably don’t want to fill up on leaves anyway.
The lobster pasta comes with the same complaint that I have for most lobster dishes—not enough lobster! Regardless, the subtle cream sauce isn’t overly rich and doesn’t mask the flavour of the lobster meat, like many sauces do. The pasta itself is a little more cooked than I like, just past al dente, but nowhere near overdone.
Civita leaves some room for improvement but it certainly does not deserve a reputation for serving poor food. Largely, the food tastes good and comes well prepared. The service is friendly, attentive and competent. Throw in the prime location and you’re in for a fine dining experience.
***½ /5
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