Barolo Grill

Barolo Grill Restaurant Review:

Successfully capturing an elegantly rustic, Tuscan feel with its earthy color scheme, Barolo Grill continues the theme with an inspired menu of Northern Italian specialties. The $70 tasting menu, drawing upon the cuisines of Piedmont, Tuscany and the Veneto, is chef Darrel Truett's selection of five courses (optionally paired with wine for an additional $45) that changes seasonally, but might include Spanish octopus coupled with polenta torte and kalamata olive crème fraîche, house-made pasta stuffed with crab and scallops, wild striped bass matched with pickled baby squash and squash blossoms and, for dessert, Barolo’s classic crème brûlée. The à la carte portion of the menu touts familiar Italian dishes, but Truett adds contemporary twists, turning out everything from lightly breaded and fried calamari to grilled Skuna Bay salmon plated with a five-grain medley, grapefruit, orange-glazed baby carrots and carrot cardamom purée, and hand-cut tajarin noodles tossed with braised rabbit. The wine list --- easily one of the most ballyhooed in the city --- favors Italian varietals, several of which are offered by the glass.