Of Spiced Teal & Chocolate

So, what’s Osteria Italiana? Well an osteria and a restaurant is generally characteristically different in that an osteria is a smaller establishment in which simple foods and wine were originally the focus. They typically have smaller menus and specialties of the region in which they’ve been placed. Suffice it to say, you won’t be finding a doubles pizza or a souse pizza here but, Buzo is definitely a tiny slice of Italy right in the middle of the Port-of-Spain restaurant scene. This of course, is apt as the Urbino born Italian Executive Chef Christian Grini, is offering to us a slice of his very own heritage.

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Name: Buzo Osteria Italiana

Address: 6A Warner Street, Port-of-Spain | Telephone: (868) 223-2896

Cuisine: Italian

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Pizza for three, with dessert and wine, service charge included: TT$ 800 to TT$1,100

We were seated promptly upon arrival, having made reservations only two hours in advance. I know many dislike the seating next to the oven and the open kitchen, but I love to see the preparation of food. To see any artist at work is an enchanting tale that beckons the deepest parts in any of us. Service was generally quick and pleasant, save the mildly aggressive antics of one of the servers that night. His actions spelled more curt than they did precision and felt abrupt enough to dispel the illusion of art induced by the undulations of warm and cosy, and cool and lounge-y of the various sections of the osteria.

We decided pretty quickly on our options, having been to Buzo on many a festive occasion prior. Three pizzas of perfect crust, visually and texturally: Vigna, Pescatrice and Buzo – the Osteria’s flagship pizza – all sailed to us on the Pinta, Niña and Santa Maria from the great Mediterranean Boot. These arrived pretty quickly considering the method of travel, with chilli oil, chilli flakes, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar of course as possible accoutrements.

Vigna is indeed a wonderful array of the classic mozzarella base, pears, white and red grapes crowned with fresh mint and gorgonzola, remnant of Proserpina’s playful springs with the nymphs, and her descent to the underworld heralded by the gorgon’s cheese. These ingredients definitely bring about a symphony – a harmonious melody of the savoury and sweet components. Vigna could well double as a dessert also; extremely versatile in its equilibrium. (9/10)

Well scattered frutti di mare mirroring the Mediterranean reality with mussels and clams still in shell, is the delicate portrait of the Pescatrice. The unmistakened whiff and taste of origanio and garlic in clearly a fresh tomato sauce, with barely aged mozzarella to match the tone of the sea, shrimp and calamari to complete the dish – the only thing missing is some brightness in flavour to really make that seafood swim home. (7/10)

If you close your eyes and just inhale, you can sense the distinct feel and sounds of the fresh morning earth while hunting for black truffles in the Buzo. It’s much easier to paint a picture than it is to describe what this pizza does to the mind. Clumsy shavings of the well-aged and nutty manchego cheese adorn the wild brushes of crisp and zesty arugula crunching in every bite, then the pig stops and scratches at the dirt, digging its snout into the new furrow – wild mushrooms! I always have to do much not to enact Pippin’s exuberance in the discovery of mushrooms, an exuberance well created in the tantalising jaunt of chilli flakes and finding black truffles alike. No, there isn’t a single actual truffle, but the generous helping of black truffle oil turns some of those wild mushrooms into that wonderful rare, earthy and aromatic thing – sans texture, of course. (10/10)

We selected the Vinchio Vaglio Rare Moscato of the apt (mostly Italian) wine selection – an odd choice one would suspect for the meal that we were having but like the array of sensorial experiences before us, this moscato I had learned in previous trips, is a versatile force. I’m not a moscato lover by any stretch. I find the modern vestiges adorning the shrine of the primal muscat grape to be overly indulgent. Indeed, quite often, moscato is a dessert in of itself, and a purely liquid dessert, is not my idea of decadence. However, this Rare, not strictly from the Moscato Region in Italy, can be paired with seafood, mild cheeses, citrus flavours – bearing these itself, hazelnut, fruits with a touch of tartness and any dessert that doesn’t rely too heavily on chocolate. This it owes to the sweet grapey aromas, melony tendencies, definite citrus notes, but above all, in my opinion, to the respect and care taken to produce a wine reminiscent of the muscat’s origins – it is crisp, flirtatious, and functional. (8/10)

Though its origin may be disputed, there is no argument among the component parts of the tiramisu. Executive Chef Grini makes his with rich but light coffee-dipped cake instead of lady fingers, smeared with cloud nine mascarpone layers and topped with shaved dark chocolate, spearmint and an accompanying strawberry. The fluffy, floating-in-your-mouth texture has no equal thus far from others tiramisus I’ve had here. This was neither too wet nor too dry and had the right amount of mascarpone and shaved chocolate. As mint always does, it highlighted the dish and refreshed my palette midway, ushering a new burst of flavour. I found the strawberry out of place save as a contrasting component, but it’s flavour only ended – all too quickly – the final act. (8/10)

Burnt Cream amazingly, has survived the annals of the Kings of Yore a couple centuries later and will probably always make its way back to our hearts and stomachs. Sounds like a peasant’s dish doesn’t it… Burnt Cream? Well call it what it is: we’ve slapped a wonderful French name on a very simple and ubiquitous custard in Europe from the 1700s, which was called many things before we used the lingua franca to despotise it. Regardless of its convolution, Buzo’s Crème Brûlée was a beautiful custard – not too eggy, which is always my fear with custards – with a perfect glassy caramelisation on top – perhaps a little too perfect as it seemed almost completely separate from the custard. (7/10)

I definitely could not wait to get a few scoops of the gelato here after my experience at Rizzoni’s. The gelato here – both vanilla and hazelnut were definitely richer in flavour having less fat content than ice cream. They are both garnished with bits of toasted almonds and toffee and of course, topped with mint. The only caveat is they were a bit airier than you’d expect from a genuine gelato; perhaps it’s an attempt to bridge the gap in the Trinbagonian palette between the familiar ice cream and the unfamiliar gelato. (7/10)

In all, Buzo is perhaps the most consistent restaurant I’ve ever been to in Trinidad. There have been some menu changes and some portion sizes have been reduced since its inception in 2011, but Buzo strives to uphold its standards all round. This neo-styled Osteria with melded modern and vintage interior, will always draw me back for truffle hunting. 

Ciao for now!

Nestled at Level 1 Fiesta Plaza in Movie Towne, Port-of-Spain, is Ristorante Italiano - Rizzoni’s. A combination of the names of two families, the Pisoni from the North of Italy and the Rizzo from the South, the name Rizzoni is a unification of the generations old recipes from both families and naturally, intended as a summons to Italy itself. 

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Name: Rizzoni’s Ristorante Italiano

Address: Level 1 Fiesta Plaza, Movie Towne, Port-of-Spain | Telephone: (868) 627-7499

Cuisine: Italian

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This is not even close to the first time I’ve been al Ristorante, however, it is the first time I’ve been back in about a year - since my customary server was rotated to Texas de Brazil. Before that mishap, I frequented Rizzoni’s, and if I’m being honest, it was due to that unmatched service -- food and the ambience were secondary. 

In the past, so too in the present, I didn’t need the roman washing of the walls or beige staining of the tiles -- the natural sepia of nostalgia serves well to paint my picture. Imagine a moment where the horrible customer service you’re accustomed to fades to black; where the server swerves like Neo and pirouettes like a danseur; who can see the collision soon to happen and with finesse avoids all. This was the server I had at my first night. He had the dexterity of a rogue and the coordination of a tight rope walker - very un-Trinidadian, and I was enamoured!

We ordered the Lamb Ragu Pizza - this would become my own signature dish here in the coming months. Perfect pizza crust, alfredo sauce, lamb ragu, marinated cherry tomatoes, caramelised onions and fresh mozzarella cheese - what’s not to love? Years later, we ordered it again and were greeted with the same perfect one-tenth to one-eighth of an inch thick crust, the unmistakeable taste of lamb ragu, and an amazing pizza dough texture that connected it all for us. (8/10)

To wash it down, the crisp but furtive red wine Sangria. It was a little more bubbly than I recall from previous samplings, which did not indeed add to (perhaps?) its refreshing intent. Some of the gala apple pieces in my glass were also too mature and therefore soft for the sangria... granny gala? (7/10)

Now there was a birthday celebration and as such, we were given a complimentary scoop of gelato. Now, this gelato from gehenna was a delectable fusion of sand storm and hail in every spoon. It had all the makings of an oasis but gave way only to a mirage of children's hopes and dreams stolen from them by the demons of the night. Is this what the cows of the Rizzo family worked so arduously for all these generations past? It's a strong antithesis to the perennial Christmas theme at the restaurant. Even for the dull of palette, when a food item tastes like something it’s supposed to taste like, you have an idea. If there was indeed a tiramisu flavour to this gelato, it probably escaped me on a boat back to Venice. 

Gelato is not the same as ice cream. I needed to categorically say that. Gelato must have less air and much less fat than ice cream. This results in more flavour per spoon, instead of more flavour dispersion per spoon. It should also be served at a slightly higher temperature than ice cream. Honestly, with the lack of flavour profile and other factors of this cold treat, it is more than likely going through an identity crisis.(3/10)

The service was good this night. Above average I’d say but no where close to what I was accustomed to here. Overall, I’d say the standard has dropped - not surprising I suppose, for anywhere in Trinidad. Thankfully, the atmosphere is more or less constant. In all, this meal set us back around $300 - not a bad price, all things considered but neither is it a go-to.

I don’t think I’ll be returning anytime soon - except maybe to take away a Lamb Ragu Specialty Pizza! 

Ok, Layali Café isn’t even open at night but, following from Scheherazade’s renowned epic and the fact that Layali is the plural of the word “night” in one of its Arabic translations, I felt that Nights at Layali (though redundant) would resonate more. 

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Name: Layali Café, The House of Turkish Coffee

Address: Shop 45, Starlight Shopping Plaza, Diego Martin Main Road, Diego Martin | Telephone:  (868) 308-1879

Cuisine: Café, Arabian/Turkish

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As all the best things, we near-wandered into Layali in happenstance only to find that they’d already closed for the evening. Not ones to take a closed sign seriously, we wagered that our desire would invoke the genie of wish-fulfilment. And so having dared, the owners – a more-than-welcoming couple, granted our wish.

The interior of Layali was small and cosy – as quaint as any quaint café that welcomes the sharing of ideas and the passion of the arts, and like those other cafés of the same sort, it made up for size with its character. There is this one window that I questioned about its existence but it daringly peered back at me. Perhaps it was meant to remind us that Layali wasn’t in a world of its own – not that I wanted to be reminded of that to begin with… does anyone in a place like this?

At this late hour, there wasn’t much to be had left but with a chorus, we were ushered to try the Sticky Toffee Pudding of the Apsaras. Ok, you got me. I embellished just a tad: the Apsaras did not indeed make it, but it was a date cake with toffee sauce. We were warned that it would fall apart as it was just baked but I found no warmth left in it – magical heat removal? Nonetheless, what it lacked in presentation, it more than made up for with taste. A bit too moist, yet not lacking in texture or layers of flavour, this date cake was indeed heart-warming and would make for a great autumnal dessert. As such, I did some digging in underground caverns and found what seems to be the recipe for the same Toffee Pudding.

We paired this with karak – an almost chai drink made with black tea – milky, sweet cardamom goodness! The best part of the karak experience to me, however, is that it was served in an ‘ibrīq. ‘Ibrīq, commonly spelt ibrik, is a tea or coffee vessel with a long spout. This vessel has been seemingly adapted from two various traditions. The first is the cezve – the proper long-handled coffee brewing pot; and the original Turkish ibrik, used not for coffee or tea, but rather, water and oil. Regardless, that it adds to the allure of the House of Turkish Coffee and, makes the dining experience all the more authentic, is indisputable. 

This sacred fruit and nectar set us back about TTD 80.00 for one serving including the 12% service charge on all items. By themselves or taken together, neither the Toffee Cake nor the karak was worth their price in my opinion, but taken with the ambience and superior service of the hosts, I’d have to concede my tendency toward dissatisfaction for a definite I shall return: Layali is definitely a little treasure to be experienced.

While we would not have been able to sample other items on the menu at that time, I’ve attached it for perusal. Naturally, as a café menu, it’s not intended to be exhaustive nor to present full Turkish or Arabic meals.