BADA-BING! SOPRANOS MUSCLES ITS WAY INTO THE OLD GIOLA IN WOODLAND HILLS.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic NO MAFIA TYPES have been noticeably visible after two visits to Sopranos, the new name for Gioia in Woodland Hills. Under new ownership, the cutesy cute·sy adj. cute·si·er, cute·si·est Informal Deliberately or affectedly cute; precious: a cutesy boutique for children's fashions. Italian ristorante, hidden somewhat on the side of the French Quarter building, evidently needed a more recognizable and easily pronounceable name (Gioia is a town in the southwest region of Italy). Even for those who don't watch the award-winning HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy series of the same title, Sopranos could easily refer to a couple of powerfully-voiced women. And this wouldn't be as far-fetched as you'd think, because on a recent Friday evening there was at least one strong soprano vocalist among a few tables of sing-along customers as a piano player banged away at the keys during the dinner hours. The best thing about Sopranos though, has nothing to do with its new name, but rather a holdover dish from the original Gioia menu. It's a pasta creation of long, flat, wide noodles called pappardelle Pappardelle (sg.: pappardella) are large fettuccine. The name derives from the verb “pappare,” to gobble up. The fresh types are two to three centimetres (¾-1 inch) wide and have fluted edges. Dried egg pappardelle have straight sides. , cooked to a correct and comfortable al dente texture, that are paired with a hearty, meaty wild boar sauce (lunch $9.50 or $11.50, dinner $16.75). It's the perfect dish with red wine. For starters, the Sopranos' kitchen excels with an eggplant, goat cheese and bacon appetizer ($8.75) that comes forth swimming in a creamy basil sauce, and tender, sweet Manila clams bathed in a garlic sauce ($11.75). However, veal entrees of piccata pic·ca·ta adj. Sliced, sautéed, and served in a sauce containing lemon, butter, and spices. Used of meat or fish. [Italian, feminine of piccato, larded, past participle of piccarsi and marsala ($21.50 each) fell short one night, not in preparation, but because the veal was rubbery. Lamb shank ($20.75), on the other hand, flavored with thyme and cooked to fall-off-the-bone tenderness, provides a hearty main course for red wine accompaniment in the same fashion as the wild boar pappardelle. Chicken marsala ($17.50) sort of falls in-between, also with a lilting wine and mushroom saucing, but cooked a tad on the dry side. If you like grilled vegetables as much as I do, you'll revel in the lunch version ($6.50) at Sopranos, a generous offering of zucchini, eggplant, sweet peppers, tomatoes, fennel fennel, common name for several perennial herbs, genus Foeniculum vulgare of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), related to dill. The strawlike foliage and the seeds are licorice-scented and are used (especially in Italian cooking) for flavoring. and a fontina fon·ti·na n. A ripened cheese of variable texture and flavor, originally produced in Italy. [Italian.] cheese topping. Soups (minestrone, lentil lentil, leguminous Old World annual plant (Lens culinaris) with whitish or pale blue flowers. Its pods contain two greenish-brown or dark-colored seeds, also called lentils, which when fully ripe are ground into meal or used in soups and stews. ) here are passable, but pastas - especially at lunchtime and particularly penne renditions - can be quite satisfying. Penne al pesto ($5.50 or $7.50) and penne alla Norma ($9.50 or $11.50) are highly recommended. The Norma treatment has the skillfully prepared, slant-cut noodles tossed with eggplant, small pieces of creamy buffalo mozzarella and a pretty good tomato sauce. Something any wiseguy or opera diva would enjoy. Larry Lipson co-hosts ``Taste of America,'' a restaurant, wine and food talk show that airs from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursdays nationally on Cable Radio Network (CRN CRN Computer Reseller News CRN Crown CRN Council for Responsible Nutrition CRN Crane CRN Community Recycling Network CRN Course Reference Number CRN Center for Responsible Nanotechnology CRN Cornish (SIL code, UK) ), heard locally on KPXN-TV (PAX) Channel 30 SAP; Adelphia Santa Monica on C 74 SAP; Adelphia San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. on Channel 1/97 SAP and 25; Time Warner West Valley on Channel 6 SAP and 960; AT&T on Channel 6 in the Valley and Channel 44 SAP in Los Angeles; Charter Communications on Channel 33 SAP; Adelphia Lancaster on Channel 37; Adelphia Simi Valley on Channel 8; Charter in Hidden Hills/Malibu/Agoura on cable FM 97.5; Avenue TV Cable Ventura on Channel 83; Charter San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. on Channel 34 SAP and Channel 56; Time Warner Canyon Country on Channel 960; Time Warner South Pasadena on Channel 6 and 960. Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com SOPRANOS Food: Two stars Wine: Two stars Service: Three stars Where: 20969 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. Hours: Open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays, for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly except Sunday. Recommended items: Eggplant stuffed with goat cheese, Manila clams, grilled vegetable plate, pastas (wild boar pappardelle, penne alla Norma and al pesto), lamb shank. How much: Starters from $3 to $12.75, pastas and entrees from $14.75 to $43, desserts $6 each. Full bar. All major credit cards. Wine list: Two-page list of 39 bottlings from $18 (Geyser geyser (gī`zər) [Icel.], hot spring from which water and steam are ejected periodically to heights ranging from a few to several hundred feet. Peak sauvignon blanc) to $69 (Italian brunello and barolo) include four $20 wines. No great bargains. Sixteen wines by the glass from $5.75 to $8.25. Corkage: $8. Reservations:Suggested. Call (818) 347-3413. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: At Sopranos, chef Giuseppe Barravecchia's specialties include a tender lamb shank flavored with thyme, top, and a sweet tiramisu tir·a·mi·su n. A dessert of cake infused with a liquid such as coffee or rum, layered with a rich cheese filling, and topped with grated chocolate. dessert, above. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion