Brought to us from the same proprietors of “Fuel” on West 4th, I was curious to see how their new restaurant, Campognolo, would be presented, and supported, in the lower income Vancouver East Side. Located right beside the good ol’ Ivanhoe on Main Street, the space retains some remnants from the previous tenants of 35 years, “Adega” a family-run Portuguese restaurant. Its 70-seat main dining room is a minimalist experience highlighted by a large floor-to-ceiling street front window, cork floors, funky lighting “pods”, exposed concrete cinderblocks, original fir beams on one-half of the dining room ceiling, while the other half is a lowered soft wood “beehive” pattern. Even the furniture speaks affordable language: Ikea-like plastic chairs and clean, simple wooden tables.
The restaurant touts itself as “Affordable, Casual Italian Dining”. The menu reflects a down home, country style Italian cuisine inspired by the northern Italian regions of Piedmonte and Emiglia-Romagna. Campognolo roughly translated means “country bumpkin”. According to proprietor Tim Puttman, it also represents the roots of the owners, all down home prairie boys from Alberta.
Like a true Italian feast, the menu is divided into multiple courses and meant to be savoured and enjoyed. We put ourselves into the capable hands of the chef to create a family style menu for us to sample. We don’t select our dishes and the anticipation somehow makes the dining experience seem even more “homey”.
We start with the crispy ceci ($8), a surprise item on this decidedly traditional Italian menu. The slightly spicy golden fried chickpeas, tossed with fresh mint and citrus, offer a contrast of colour to the country earthenware dish. The papery crispness of the skin slides away to a creamy interior. It is the decided favourite of all the antipastos ($5 - $12) we tasted, including: the house specialty “the cure” salumi meat selection; a well-balanced seared albacore tuna with white bean ragout (the sophisticated county cousin); and a thinly sliced, tangy red and yellow beet dish that is surprisingly fresh on the palate.
Next up, primi or the pasta dishes ($13 - $16). The one pasta dish I sample is the Carnaroli Risotto. The risotto, mixed with fennel, black olive and tarragon, while creative in design is timid in taste and I find it rather bland. My dining companions try the pork ragu, basil and pecorino Tagliarini, declaring the pasta is a nice al-dente consistency with balanced flavours. The Quadri fennel sausage with walnut & dandelion greens is compared to a deconstructed ravioli in appearance. It tastes fine, but does not inspire.
The true test of country Italian kitchen is its pizza, and Campagnola delivers a not-too-thin crust pizza dough with a lovely salty – sweet taste. Of the four pizzas presented ($11 - $13), my favourite is the Salsiccia. Brightly coloured green rucola is an eye-catching contrast with the red chilis. The parmigiano reggiano compliments the ingredients and the dough.
Happy that we don’t have to select just one “dolci” item for dessert ($7.50), we try them all: Olive Oil Cake, Panna Cotta and Nutella Tart. The winner, hands down, is the smooth, chocolaty Nutella Tart flavoured with the added zip of Frangelico, and balanced by a delectable crispy, buttery crust.
Country cooking: yes. Casual Italian: check. Affordable: perhaps. While the initial prices seem quite reasonable, the portions are small, which means you’ll need to slow down and order a few courses just like a true Italian. But hey, isn’t that what the “dolce vita” is all about?