Italian Cuisine Wakes Up At La Zingara

There has been a lot of excitement about La Zingara since it opened last May in the historic P.T. Barnum Square in Bethel, dispelling the ho-hum response that usually accompanies the opening of yet another Italian restaurant in northern Fairfield County.

The restaurant has garnered very good reviews from area food critics, including the New York Times, which praised its regional Italian cuisine, attentive service, and a setting that seems to have stepped straight out of Siena, Tuscany.

Owner Lisa Tassone of Beacon, N.Y., grew up in the food business and decided while she was still a premed student in Colorado that the food business was where she belonged. After years of working for other restaurant owners, she enlisted the help of her father, Graziano Tassone, to turn the building that for years housed San Miguel into a charming ristorante.

The staff includes Roberto Moro, who serves as maitre d’ and pastry chef, and has worked in New York restaurants as well as owning his own restaurant in Liguria, Italy. Executive Chef Thomas Giudice, a 1995 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, has traveled the entire length of Italy, from the top of the boot to the southernmost point of Sicily, gathering first-hand appreciation of the finest regional fare. He is joined in the kitchen of La Zingara by sous chef Michael Pedicini of Boston.

La Zingara, “the gypsy,” is open for lunch and dinner daily except Tuesday, when it is closed, and Sunday, when the restaurant offers both brunch and dinner.

Dinner starts with an antipasti selection, $8–13, that includes Gamberoni con Prosciutto e Gorgonzola: pan-seared large prawns wrapped with gorgonzola and proscuitto and served over a chickpea and rosemary puree with toasted herb points, and Calamari Affumicati: calamari sautéed in a smoked tomato broth with fresh arugula, finished with white truffle oil (although fried calamari are available on request).

There is a choice of four salads ($5–6) including a house, Caesar, and spinach (the later with hard-cooked eggs, candied walnuts and warm prosciutto sage dressing) and an Insalata Contadina that features layers of roasted beets and goat cheese topped with arugula and sweet and sour red onions.

Entrees include Primi Piatti, the pastas ($16–20), with selections that include pulled duck, wild boar, and other regional Italian fare including a number of vegetarian dishes. Tagliatelle alla Zingara includes scallops, mussels, clams, calamari, prawns, and scampi in a light tomato saffron sauce. Risotto alla Mela Verde is carnaroli rice simmered with green apple, toasted walnuts and asiago cheese, finished with parmigiano.

Secondi Piatti ($16–25) range from fresh Atlantic salmon encrusted with potato and pan-seared, served over a roasted fennel puree, to pan-seared rack of veal topped with a Calvados veal sauce and finished with truffle butter. A grilled pork porterhouse is served with a fig compote and finished with a moscato-infused balsamic sauce.

The lunch and dinner menus are very similar, with the exception of a selection of panini (sandwiches) available only at lunch.

Sunday Bellini Brunch, $19 per person, offers all you can drink Bellinis and bloody Marys. There is a choice of soup of the day or house salad, followed by a choice of a half-dozen entrees, plus dessert: tiramisu, torta di ricotta, or panna cotta alla nutella.

La Zingara, 8 P.T. Barnum Square, serves lunch from 11 am to 3 pm, dinner from 5 to 10 Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 5–11 on Friday and Saturday. Sunday brunch and dinner 11–9. Closed Tuesdays. The restaurant has a full-service bar and is handicapped accessible. Parking is in the lot behind the restaurant or on the street. Credit cards accepted. Off-premise catering and wine dinners are available. Reservations are taken for five or more persons, call 744-7500.

Tortellini ai Porcini

Cheese tortellini, homemade (or good quality store bought)

3 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1 cup heavy cream

½ tsp olive oil

2-3 slivers of garlic

Handful of grated parmigiano cheese

White truffle oil (optional)

Boil dried mushrooms in 1 cup water until soft. Drain, reserving water.

Sauté garlic slivers in olive oil, add drained porcini mushrooms. Add the cream and ¼ cup of the reserved porcini water. Reduce until thick.

Meanwhile cook the tortellini. Add cooked tortellini to reduced sauce, add a handful of parmigiano cheese. Finish with truffle oil. Serves 4.