When it involves restaurants on Via Veneto, uh, I suggest Las Olas Boulevard. I want there was more range. But broadly speaking, we get a river of pink sauce and a parade of pasta, pizza, and prosciutto, with a few giant meatballs, veal parm, and grilled steaks, and shrimp are thrown in. Three extra Italian restaurants have opened this year, bringing the total to 12 in a ten-block cluster: Piazza Italia (February), Tuscan Prime (May), and Talento (June). Venice of America, indeed.
The question for a critic and discerning diners: Do any of these newbies bring something exceptional to the table, or are they just safe physical games in filling seats via imparting America’s most famous overseas cuisine? And if these types of restaurants do is displace older, staler Italian eating places, is that progress?
Each of the trios jogs my memory of something already on Las Olas. Piazza Italia (at the previous Mangos website) is an active region that is similar to Louie Bossi, with astonishing antipasto platters and a lower back courtyard. Tuscan Prime (within the former domestic of Grille 401) has Timpano Italian Chophouse elements, however prettier and with higher food. And Talento has shades of Caffe Europa, with desserts displayed in a glass case and a crowded bar scene (satisfied hour runs all night at Talento’s bar).
That stated each has virtues. My rundown, in order of choice. Be warned: None is cheap (hello, it’s Las Olas).
A trio of new Italian restaurants on Las Olas Boulevard
When it involves restaurants on Via Veneto, uh, I imply Las Olas Boulevard, I desire there has been extra range. But on the whole, we get a river of purple sauce and a parade of pasta, pizza, and prosciutto, with a few giant meatballs, veal parm, and grilled steaks, and shrimp are thrown in. Three extra Italian restaurants have opened this year, bringing the entire to twelve in a 10-block cluster: Piazza Italia (February), Tuscan Prime (May), and Talento (June). Venice of America, indeed.
The query for a critic and discerning diners: Do any of these rookies carry something specific to the table, or are they simply safe exercises in filling seats by supplying America’s most popular overseas delicacies? And if all these eating places do is displace older, staler Italian restaurants, is that progress?
Each of the trios strikes a chord in my memory of something already on Las Olas. Piazza Italia (at the previous website of Mangos) is an active location. This is just like Louie Bossi, with surprising antipasto platters and a lower back courtyard. Tuscan Prime (within the former home of Grille 401) has Timpano Italian Chophouse elements, but prettier and with higher meals. And Talento has shades of Caffe Europa, with desserts displayed in a pitcher case and a crowded bar scene (satisfied hour runs all night at Talento’s bar).
Talento (three 1/2 stars)
The latest of the bunch, Talento has quickly observed its footing, with accelerated, easy meals that present flavor and finesse. The decor is minimalist, elegant, and contemporary, with white leather-based seats, horseshoe-shaped banquettes, and an LED waterfall wall isolating the bar from the eating room. Tables are well-spaced, so nobody feels cramped. The menu is big, perhaps too big, with pizzas, raw bar gadgets, appetizers, pasta, fish, meat, and a full menu for vegans (an exclusive and welcome touch). But diners will now not find fowl parm, Fettucine Alfredo, or many standard heavier Italian-American offerings. Talento targets something more delicate.
The eating place is sponsored with the aid of deep-pocketed enterprise companions Maurizio Tiarella and Sandro Picciurro, who owned the first McDonald’s franchises in Italy (Rome) a long time ago. A few years ago, Tiarella ate at Dal Maestro, a small Hallandale Beach restaurant close to Gulfstream Park. He turned into inspired by the husband-and-spouse crew who ran it, chef Luigi Criscuolo and supervisor Angela Gullotta.
Tiarella has given them a shot at the massive time. If my current meal is any indication, they’re as much as the challenge.
Housemade pasta show off precision and firmness that is a pleasure to devour, along with pappardelle with a corpulent wild boar ragout ($23), or with black desserts and elderly Parmigiano-Reggiano ($35). Snapper Crudo ($18), served over arugula with caperberries, shimmered with freshness. A simple salad of subject veggies ($10) became gently dressed with a wisp of bracing French dressing. Housemade desserts were diffused instead of sugary, such as tiramisu ($10) and airy, creamy profiteroles ($12).
Talento bills its delicacies as “current Italian,” and the eating place has one ultra-2019 touch: the triple-digit entree. It is the primary Italian eating place on Las Olas to crack the $100 barrier: $120 for a Tomahawk rib-eye steak that the menu boasts is “cooked to perfection.” (Lobster Bar changed into the primary to cross the $100 plateau on Las Olas, with massive lobsters and a $120 porterhouse).
We ordered our medium-uncommon. The kitchen grilled it with magnificent precision, with a flavorful crust that turned into charred, however no longer burnt, and a juicy, ruby-purple indoors. It featured a Brontosaurus-sized bone that could make Fred Flinstone proud, served on a cutting board unsliced (which we didn’t thoughts; it intended the steak became properly resting to permit redistribution of juices). The platter got here with roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus, mushrooms, sweet peppers, little piles of watercress, and a scattering of entire peppercorns. Simple, quiet, and scrumptious. And big enough to serve two or three.
My biggest quibble was with the wine provider. After an excellent day at the races, I ordered a 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Castello Romitorio ($275, no longer quite double markup on its $one hundred forty retail prices). Our server, who regarded inexperienced and frightened at meal’s start while she recited specials and went into a rote spiel about “we simplest use the finest of elements,” fetched higher glasses. Still, it took prompting from me to get the bottle decanted. She splashily poured the wine without delay into the lowest of the decanter instead of tilting it and pouring the wine gently in opposition to the facet to aerate it. Some better schooling is in order. But I’d say Talento is off to a splashy, superb begin.
Talento, 1307 E. Las Olas Blvd., 754-206-4180, TalentoRestaurant.Com, 11:30 a.M.-10:30 p.M. Daily. Reservations via smartphone and at OpenTable.Com. Expensive-very high-priced; complete liquor with Italian-focused wine listing; mild-to-loud noise degree; patio seating, ground level for wheelchair get right of entry to; metered street parking or nearby masses.
