We went to Chiaroscuro for dinner one day with the neighbours. Nice little fine Italian neighbourhood joint in Jackson Square, Lingon had been before, and I always had been a little curious. Decently well rated on Yelp, a bit pricey but not over the top. Here is what we ordered.
burrata: burrata cheese, smoked bell pepper foam, olive crackers, roasted eggplant, heirloom tomato, semi dry cherry tomato - not bad, cheese was yummy but just go to Cowgirl Creamery and buy some good quality burrata and it will be hard to mess up.
trio di pesci: chick peas flour batter salted cod puffs, oven baked fresh anchovies lasagna, fish of the day tartar - this was OK, the anchovies stood out but again who can really mess up anchovies as long as you buy good ones. I really bought it for the salted cod puffs, but they were tiny with not much fish and the batter was a bit too thick for me.
gnocchi al pepe nero e pancetta: pancetta stuffed-black pepper potato gnocchi, baby zucchini, patty pan squash, lemon zest, fresh ricotta - very blah tasting. Did not taste like much.
fettuccine al ragu’ bianco: duck egg fettuccine, braised oxtail ragu’, smoked carrot puree, onion soubis, micro celery - really really really good. This was the one absolute stand out dish. So full of flavour. Actually I'm not sure that is what we ordered, but it was a pasta dish with meat as shown in the picture.
bisteccadi manzo: kobe beef bavette steak, broccoli quenelle, parmigiano sauce, spring onion chutney, demi-glace - Good.
pesce del giorno - I think it was a trout and it was pink. Forgot to take a photo, and of course this has to be the fish of the day that changes everyday. Pfft. Good.
profiteroles alle tre creme: house made cream puffs, pistachio cream,chantilly cream, choccolate cream - Good.
trio di mousse: trio of three mousse, chocolate chip, white choccolate-pink peppercorn, bittersweet-orange zest, hazelnut crumble, italian sea salt - Good.
One member in our party tried to order a Caesar salad, but the service staff told us that was too simple for them. Was not impressed with the response, trying to figure out if it I found it insulting or not.
The trio of pasta tasting was highly recommended. Maybe next time, if there is a next time. Overall I don't like the idea of an Italian restaurant forcing us to order a certain number of courses. Would have preferred perhaps 3 or 4 pastas to share.
Overall, good food, but nothing to write home about.
burrata: burrata cheese, smoked bell pepper foam, olive crackers, roasted eggplant, heirloom tomato, semi dry cherry tomato - not bad, cheese was yummy but just go to Cowgirl Creamery and buy some good quality burrata and it will be hard to mess up.
trio di pesci: chick peas flour batter salted cod puffs, oven baked fresh anchovies lasagna, fish of the day tartar - this was OK, the anchovies stood out but again who can really mess up anchovies as long as you buy good ones. I really bought it for the salted cod puffs, but they were tiny with not much fish and the batter was a bit too thick for me.
gnocchi al pepe nero e pancetta: pancetta stuffed-black pepper potato gnocchi, baby zucchini, patty pan squash, lemon zest, fresh ricotta - very blah tasting. Did not taste like much.
fettuccine al ragu’ bianco: duck egg fettuccine, braised oxtail ragu’, smoked carrot puree, onion soubis, micro celery - really really really good. This was the one absolute stand out dish. So full of flavour. Actually I'm not sure that is what we ordered, but it was a pasta dish with meat as shown in the picture.
bisteccadi manzo: kobe beef bavette steak, broccoli quenelle, parmigiano sauce, spring onion chutney, demi-glace - Good.
pesce del giorno - I think it was a trout and it was pink. Forgot to take a photo, and of course this has to be the fish of the day that changes everyday. Pfft. Good.
profiteroles alle tre creme: house made cream puffs, pistachio cream,chantilly cream, choccolate cream - Good.
trio di mousse: trio of three mousse, chocolate chip, white choccolate-pink peppercorn, bittersweet-orange zest, hazelnut crumble, italian sea salt - Good.
One member in our party tried to order a Caesar salad, but the service staff told us that was too simple for them. Was not impressed with the response, trying to figure out if it I found it insulting or not.
The trio of pasta tasting was highly recommended. Maybe next time, if there is a next time. Overall I don't like the idea of an Italian restaurant forcing us to order a certain number of courses. Would have preferred perhaps 3 or 4 pastas to share.
Overall, good food, but nothing to write home about.
