 Chef Scott Conant is familiar to many of us through his television appearances and his Scarpetta restaurants (New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Toronto). Conant, born to an Italian mother, started taking cooking classes at eleven, and attended the Culinary Institute of America. Except for one year in Germany, he has always cooked Italian, and trained/worked at Italian restaurants in the Big Apple. He opened his first restaurant, Scarpetta in New York in 2008, modernizing an earthy Italian cuisine and adding his own touches from his heritage and time spent in Italy. We have tried many items on his menus, and it is hard to make recommendations, as they are all good. At his Beverly Hills Scarpetta, you may start with the raw yellowtail with zenzero oil and pickled red onion, the raw tuna rolled and stuffed with marinated vegetables and preserved truffles, or the roasted sea scallops on a bed of charred asparagus purée. WARNING: the dinner bread basket includes warm bread stuffed with salami, smoked mozzarella, basil and garlic that is absolutely addictive. But save room for the tomato/basil spaghetti, the short ribs agnolotti or the duck and foie gras ravioli in a Marsala reduction. The black cod is prepared with caramelized fennel and concentrated tomatoes, while the veal chop is accompanied by glazed sweetbreads, baby artichokes and peanut potatoes. Reading these descriptions, you can deduce Conant's is a warm cuisine, from the heart, one you would want to indulge in often --- though it does not come cheap. There are Italian choices for the cheese course; sweet endings might include coconut panna cotta or a plum-almond crostata. Like the 90210 zip code the restaurant inhabits, the wine list is chic and expensive, with a focus on Italian and French wines. Note that we are not very keen on the décor, which is sort of bare for this large space (the outdoor patio has a warmer feel), and the service can be a little stiff.
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Go behind the scenes of Scarpetta restaurant! Watch our exclusive interview with chef Scott Conant.
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