Garlic Breadth

Comments (0) By Carey Sweet Thursday, Apr 20 2000

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No one's jealous about my other dining companion's choice of Carpaccio "Va Bene" ($8.50), however. I like this traditional Italian appetizer of thin-shaved beef fillet, but the version we receive is charmless. The Carpaccio is frozen in the middle and completely tasteless, drizzled with a light coat of lemon and olive oil, and missing the capers that give the dish such perkiness. Yes, there's an abundance of Grana (sliced Parmigiano-Reggiano), but it too tastes of emptiness, just thin strips of grainy, rind-like cheese. We push tastings back and forth (no, please, I insist, you take more), and easily half of the generous portion returns to the kitchen.

Spirits revive with the entrance of Cozze "Va Bene" ($8.50). Nicknamed "the poor man's oysters" because of their abundance and reasonable pricing, mussels are a delicious bargain when prepared well. The Cosics know their stuff, serving up a half-dozen clean, juicy bivalves dressed simply with chunky diced tomato, olive oil and garlic in the fish's own buttery liqueur. Yet, there are only two toast rounds presented for the dish's highly sopable juices. Our previously snubbed breadbasket becomes a spoil of war as we joust for soft, doughy pulls.

Lokey

Va Bene's dishes have the sparkle of homemade.

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Va Bene Italian Cuisine & Wine Bar

4647 E. Chandler Blvd.
Ahwatukee, AZ 85048

Category: Restaurant > Italian

Region: Ahwatukee

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But nothing, not even the niceties of our mussels, prepares us for Va Bene's Antipasto della Casa ($8.95). I feel just like a proud parent as diners at other tables turn to admire our dish.

Of course, credit must go to the Cosics, who have knocked themselves out gifting us with a platter showcasing sweet, basil-flecked fresh mozzarella slices (with actual mozzarella taste!) and properly salty Prosciutto shavings. Sharing the plate are equally delightful, highly garlicky grilled eggplant rounds; marinated whole mushrooms; tomato; and grilled onion, eggplant, zucchini and green pepper. I positively adore good vegetables, and these win my balsamic-coated affections at first bite.

If there's a single succulent plant to be found at Va Bene, though, it's garlic. Lots and lots of garlic. Long credited with providing and prolonging physical strength (it was fed to Egyptian slaves building the giant pyramids), it also has been credited with curing toothaches, consumption, open wounds and even evil demons. I simply say, "Wow, it tastes good." So what if garlic ruins any date potential? (Did you know its essential oils permeate the lung tissue, which is why it affects breath and even skin odor? I didn't. And that modern-day science has yet to find the perfect antidote for residual garlic odor? I could have guessed.)

Not only is garlic delicious, it's a saving grace for Va Bene's menu-listed items. Without this herbal bulb, little would be memorable in the restaurant's preprinted fare. But, hey, Sasha did warn us, didn't he?

I can actually smell the garlic wafting from my Spaghetti Aglio Olio Peperoncino ($8.95) while it's still three tables away. By the time it's set before me, my nostrils exalt with the secondary scent of hot red pepper, and my taste buds are all atwitter with the pasta perfection to come. I take my first bite and look around the table slyly. You know, I do have to taste everyone else's dish, I announce commandingly. Who's ready to switch? But I've got no takers. For, while my beloved garlic stench is there in force, somehow there is no taste to this food. It's simply slim, overcooked noodles in an oily, aromatic bath.

Scaloppine di Pollo all Pizzaiola ($13.50) is much better, thanks to the CPR of a full-bodied tomato sauce. Chicken is chicken, a nicely cooked breast that's been competently thwacked for tenderness. A side of dry, cold mashed potatoes spiked with baby carrot, broccoli and cauliflower is mere plate dressing (and it comes with every entree -- how dull). But the sauce makes each bite fun, spirited by a sensuous blend of sautéed tomato; onion; capers and whole, pitted Kalamata olives. I cut the olives into tiny pieces to spread their tangy wealth, and here is where I crave some pasta to soak it all up.

Another menu item, Grigliata Mista ($18.95), brings a pretty, mixed-grill plate anchored by sausage, chicken breast, top round of veal and a lamb chop. It's fine, although my dining companions and I find ourselves playing "guess that meat" under the restaurant's dim lighting. The flavors -- and even the textures -- simply don't stand out.

But who's to blame here? Again, Sasha can claim, "I told you so." And doesn't our waiter, on each of our successive visits, fine tune the point, gently steering us from Veal Piccata ($16.50) and Scaloppine di Pollo all Genovese ($13.50), because while those dishes are good, we can get them at most any Italian restaurant in town?

Sasha knows it. Now, I know it. One evening's special offering is pork tenderloin ($17.95). It's a thinly pounded, subtly flavored strip doused in a cream, milk and white-wine blend and served atop great, juicy, fresh spinach. Another night we find linguine with mussels, shrimp, clams, and scallops ($18.95). It comes dressed in more of that tasty tomato blend, a huge bowl of al dente pasta with -- to its fault -- a much greater ratio of mussels to other seafood. What we get is yummy, but for a true taste of the sea, we should get more variety for our money.