Risotto

Address

610 W. Lake St., Mpls., 612-823-4338, risottomn.com

The Scene

This new LynLake trattoria was home to a short-lived wine bar, and the largely idle bar remains the focal point of the dining room. A small collection of wooden tables and comfortably cushioned chairs dots the wood-paneled room, which is accented by red, black, and mustard paint. The clientele trends toward casually dressed baby boomers and a smattering of Gen Xers who come from nearby condos.

Our Take

Risotto is a first-rate restaurant deserving of more attention than it’s receiving. The tightly focused menu changes monthly, and the food is wonderfully conceived, tasty, and almost flawlessly executed. Pricing the pastas in the mid-teens might be testing the limits, however. The quartet of labor-intensive risotti are as skillfully prepared as any you’ll find in these parts. But don’t consume so many carbs that you pass on the frittura mista—an antipasti of lightly fried calamari ringlets, small strips of red pepper, and zucchini paired with a ramekin of homemade marinara; the lobster salad accented with red onion, tomato, and kalamata olives; or filetto ai porcini—a perfectly grilled piece of tenderloin served in a creamy fontina cheese sauce. There was a trio of nice desserts when I visited, the best being a wedge of velvety chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce. About the only notable criticisms included a risotto of sautéed leeks, chicken, and porcini with too much salt, and a sauce over the spaghetti vongole that more resembled a broth. Service is top-notch, and both evenings the chef made several visits to solicit feedback.

ANOTHER UNHERALDED TALENT

For the past eight years, chef-owner Gabriele Lo Pinto has been cooking in relative obscurity at Edina’s Arezzo. Like so many local chefs, this is a guy who has credentials galore, including extensive culinary training in Genoa, a stint in Singapore, and years cooking in Umbria. It’s fitting that he now has a place of his own where his considerable skills can be showcased.

THREE GREAT PLATES

+ Polpettone de Faggiolini. Eating your green beans doesn’t get more pleasurable than it does with this heavenly vegetable soufflé nested in a creamy Asiago cheese sauce.
+ Risotto Zafferano e Salsiccia. This freshly made combination of toothsome arborio rice simmered with sautéed shallots, homemade Sicilian sausage, saffron, and asparagus tips is the epitome of a great risotto.
+ Pollo ai Funghi de Bosco. A tender, lightly breaded chicken breast is sautéed with leeks and a variety of mushrooms in a white wine reduction, topped with crisp-fried julienne potatoes.