I told hubs, in no uncertain terms, that he was taking me out. I needed comfort food. When I think comfort food, my mind (and belly) immediately crave Italian food. I remember fondly, my Nana’s family restaurant in Connecticut; Carbone’s Ristorante (which is still there, BTW).
So off we went, to the one truly authentic Italian restaurant here in town; Fortuna Ristorante Italiano. The restaurant is a partnership between my old pal Carlo Giambatista (of Italian Star Deli fame), Pat Fiacco - former mayor of Regina and olympic boxer, Joe and Vince Fiorante owners of Fiorante Homes since the early 70s and Enio Ricci. All these folks have a proud Italian heritage and according to their PR, wanted to leave a legacy that honored those roots. To help them do this, they imported the executive chef; Gianni Poggio from Rome, who is a Certified Master Chef of Italian Cuisine. I feared for poor Gianni, coming to Canada to impart traditional Italian food, as I had flashbacks to one of my favorite movies; “Big Night”. However, chef Gianni seems to have really hit his stride and blends the traditional Italian cuisine with a more Canadian palate, quite artfully, while still remaining true to his roots.
This is not the first time we dined here so don’t be thinking that I ate all of these dishes in one sitting - much as I’d like to, there’s no way I could consume that amount!
Last time we were there we started with an old standby in any self-respecting Italian establishment (including my home) - Bruschetta! - It’s got quite a bite of garlic, but to me, if it doesn’t have garlic, it isn’t really food. Make sure that you both eat some if you’re on a date though!
Next up we had one of my favorites. I love octopus, I mean I really, really love octopus so this dish, an octopus carpaccio was made for me. On the menu it’s known as Carpaccio di polpopo e palate (carpaccio of octopus with potato) - it’s beautifully cooked and seasoned, drizzled with olive oil and the potatoes are a nice textural contrast to the octopus. If you love octopus, or even like it a little, this dish is a must try.
Last night, however, I forced myself to try something different and went with the beef carpaccio. Oh, oh, oh - almost made me forget about the octopus! Paper thin slices of beef with the right amount of fattiness, are bedecked with chilled mushrooms and coarsely grated parmesan - the only things I would change about this dish would be to use fewer mushrooms and shave the parmesan into bigger chunks - but that’s a personal preference.
Next up, hubs decided on the Zuppa di Giorno, which was a creamy asparagus soup, while I opted for the Insalata Verde. The soup was creamy but with a pronounced flavor of asparagus, topped with a drizzle of oil and parmesan - Don’t let the plain presentation fool you; it was an extremely tasty soup.
Now at my Nana’s, one went through the progression of a typical Italian meal; antipasto, pasta or risotto, fish, meat and salad. The portions on offer at Fortuna, of course are full meal sized portions, so there is no way one could make their way through a meal comprising all of those courses, So I combined my pasta and meat courses.
Now, if you know me, you know I love a good braise. A normally tough cut of meat, like oxtail or lamb shanks is transformed when seared and slowly braised with vegetables, stock and wine - it’s coaxed into giving up all of those flavors into something that’s deliciously comforting. Fortuna does wonderful braise. This is the braised lamb shank, served over pappardelle (one of my all time favorite pastas). It’s rich and hearty and the pappardelle is house made, with enough thickness to be the perfect foil for the slightly piquant tomatoey jus.
The Osso Bucco, is equally luscious - the rich beefy braising liquid and tender succulent meat served over a mound of cheesy soft polenta, takes me to my Nana’s kitchen on a cold winter’s night. Of course, our summer weather has been so unpredictable that you needn’t wait for winter! What I like about the braises, is that these take so much time and attention to do at home, that when I order them out, I never think; “I should have done this at home”.
This weekend, however, I wanted something that is a bit harder for me to do at home, if only because sourcing the ingredients is harder for the home cook. I am a huge fan of squid, but I am extremely picky about it. HAHA - no big surprise there, since I am probably pickier than most about anything I eat out at a restaurant. For my main course I ordered the Griguata calamari e gamberoni - or grilled shrimp and squid served with a balsamic reduction, polenta and sautéed green beans. The squid and shrimp were perfectly cooked - soft and tender but not undercooked - a tough one to do well in a restaurant setting to be sure! The polenta was surprising (and satisfying) with bits of red bell pepper and the green beens, well, they managed to be tough and overcooked at the same time, but they were peripheral to the dish I really wanted anyway. I could have eaten a pound of the squid. They have a version of this dish sans squid, I only wish they had a version sans shrimp, since I only came for the squid!
Over the years, hubs has been learning to accommodate my Italian palate but this evening he opted for something more closely suited to his Teutonic roots and went with the Pork chop stuffed with goat cheese and spinach. The chop was a very thick chop amply stuffed with the cheese and spinach filling (perhaps too amply?), hubs was pulling out the filling and eating it with his potatoes (that German thing again). The chop, amazingly was cooked to a perfect temperature, just below medium and just above medium rare, leaving it pink and very juicy while sporting a wonderful outer crust. Nicely done!
If you’re still game to try a bit of dessert, The panacotta is lovely but the gelato sampler is pure heaven and there is enough to share amongst a table of four!
All of the food was delicious, well seasoned and well presented, the martini was cold and dry, the servers are excellent; present when you need them but not hovering, though they could learn a bit more about the menu. Ours was unable to answer questions about the specials, and we got the sense that she was trying to invent answers on the spot as opposed to asking the kitchen. All in all it was a delightful evening. I have two recommendations; one for Fortuna and one for patrons.
To Fortuna, I would love to see a tasting menu, with small tasting portions so that I could have a traditional Italian progression; perhaps with a beverage pairing? An aperitif, to start and a grappa to finish with all those wonderful nibbles in between would have me returning every weekend to see what new treat awaited me on a tasting menu.
To patrons; please visit, Fortuna. This is truly the only authentic Italian meal, outside of my own home, that I have had in Regina. I would dearly love to see this restaurant thrive and do well, so that we as the eating public can continue to journey vicariously throughout Italy, if only with our tastebuds.
Kudos to the staff and owners at Fortuna, you truly provided comfort when I most wanted it. Oh and my husband thanks you for that aspect as well! Ciao!
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