al Vento

Address:
5001 34th Ave. S., Mpls., 612-724-3009, alventorestaurant.com

The Scene
This cozy Lake Nokomis area trattoria feels imported directly from the old country. The romantic effect created by flickering votive candles on textured walls and gauzy shadows cast by copper-mesh-covered lights is irresistible. The young neighborhood couples and groups of friends who fill up the two dining rooms and occupy the small copper-fronted wine bar tend to leave the bambinos at home. The restaurant offers a laid-back, unhurried evening that seems worlds away from the very typical south Minneapolis intersection just outside its doors.

Our Take
At the tender age of twenty-nine, al Vento’s chef-owner Jon Hunt has already done a lot of living. Raised in South Africa, where his parents were missionaries, he has a resumé that includes a broad brush of formal training, travel, and stints in kitchens that include New French Café, The Local, Campiello, and most recently Pane Vino Dolce. When Hunt heard that the former Marimar site was available, he jumped at the chance to take it over. And taken it over he has. Not only has the décor been made more welcoming, but so has the cooking.

Whether it’s hearty and fresh tomato-sauced spaghetti with veal meatballs or rich and toothsome ravioli rounds stuffed with roasted pumpkin and bathed in a sage brown butter, the Southern Italian– and Sicilian-inspired menu has something for everyone. Both thin-crust pizzas I sampled were knockouts. Several entrées—most notably a superlative arrangement of pink slices of Moscovy duck breast cooked with roasted grapes and pancetta and bathed in a red wine reduction and another of chunks of pork tenderloin seasoned with Dijon and rosemary in an orange-based reduction—were delicious. The only negatives were the crab cakes and the grilled jumbo scallops, both with a notably fishy edge.

More bothersome were numerous service lapses. Bottles of wine arrived after the food they were selected to match, and there were lengthy waits between courses.

Focus on Wine
Marimar, al Vento’s predecessor, seemed to have trouble deciding if it was a neighborhood restaurant or a destination. Chef Hunt is very much catering to his neighbors, and that dictates his flexible menu, designed for repeat visits and local sensibilities. He has to be able to please the “salami pizza and a beer” crowd as well as folks who call and want a multicourse tasting menu for the same evening—thus the mix-and-match pizza, pasta, salad, and entrée approach, and the interesting assortment of wines. The middle course between I Nonni and the Olive Garden is not the easiest line to walk.