Byline: Aleta Watson
Sep. 3--Madison & Fifth, the name of the newest upscale Italian restaurant in downtown Palo Alto, is drawn from a mythical Manhattan address.
In reality, the two famous avenues run parallel, a block apart, through the Upper East Side, never to intersect. Between them, though, are numerous fashionable eateries that create a zone of sophisticated dining. And it's the spirit of that zone that the owners of the new Palo Alto restaurant are trying to evoke on University Avenue. They also run La Houppa, an Italian place on East 64th in Manhattan. Madison & Fifth has the look: Tall, folding French doors open onto the sidewalk. Inside, modern upholstered booths line the pale wood walls beneath a band of space-expanding mirrors and fanciful murals of NYC street scenes. A sinuous blue granite bar separates the narrow, high-ceilinged dining room from an open kitchen, complete with wood-fired pizza oven. Attractive young hostesses and servers are stylishly dressed. Managers wear suits and food runners sport ties. The food, however, vacillates between quite good and disappointing. Ingredients are fresh and cooking is competent, but more emphasis frequently is placed on presentation than seasoning. Chef Sebastiano Zagaria, who calls his food contemporary Italian, too often loses sight of flavor in his quest for creativity, as in the bland pumpkin risotto with lobster and black truffles served in an hollowed out acorn squash ($23).
Prices are steep for food that is only rarely memorable. I was stunned to find a charge of $15 on a lunch bill for an undistinguished first course of radicchio, grilled with bufala mozzarella, that had been offered as a daily special. Service, though friendly, lacks polish and sometimes is very slow. Conversation began to lag on a recent evening as my companions and I sat at a cleared table wondering where our dessert menus could be. Then there was a seemingly interminable wait for the check. Every meal begins well with slices of francese bread and a welcome saucer of olives, cherry tomatoes and zippy caper berries in olive oil with pepper flakes. They set the mood for the starters, some of the tastiest dishes on the menu. Since portions are large, you could easily make a satisfying meal of a couple of appetizers.
A crisp Bertani Due Uve, a blend of pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc ($11 a glass), from the intriguing list of Italian wines, would round out such a meal nicely. Or consider the velvety Nero d' Avola ($10 a glass) from Sicily. This time of year, you shouldn't miss the caprese salad ($15), which capitalizes on luscious summer tomatoes and creamy bufala mozzarella, plated with roasted peppers, basil, olives and a touch of pesto to heighten flavors. It's big enough for two. So is the excellent fritto misto ($17) with expertly fried calamari, red snapper and prawns with artichoke and zucchini. Citrus salad ($12) -- fennel, mint and watercress layered atop slices of orange, grapefruit and Meyer lemon -- is tangy and refreshing. And the savory flavors of thinly sliced, barely cooked beef and wild mushrooms are seductive in scottato ($11) with a peppery arugula salad and aromatic truffle oil. On the down side, segato di carciofi ($12), one of Zagaria's specialties, was dry and dull at lunch. Although the salad was beautifully plated in a bowl formed by radicchio leaves, the profusion of celery and large slices of fat field mushroom stems all but obscured the shaved artichokes for which it was named. And there was too little lemon dressing to moisten the ingredients. Entrees were generally the weakest course on my visits. Least appealing was the galletto al mattone alla diavola ($17 at lunch), an overcooked roasted Cornish game hen in a spicy mustard sauce. Following close behind was the gorgeous but under-seasoned pumpkin risotto with rubbery chunks of lobster and no hint of the promised black truffle. Spaghetti alla chitarra ($18) would have been good if there had been a higher proportion of the handmade squid ink spaghetti to the aggressive sauce of tuna, dried tomatoes, olives and capers, which overwhelmed the dish. Five round handmade ravioli ($16) -- filled with pear, arugula and rich asiago cheese -- were tender and delicate but a bit too sweet for my taste. I'd return, however, for the orata ($27), a moist and meaty Mediterranean sea bass, baked in a salt crust and boned theatrically at tableside by a manager, or the robust sirloin steak tagliata ($27 at lunch). Thick slices of rare sirloin, fanned out over a large, crusty disk of roasted potatoes and anointed with garlic, olive oil and rosemary, make for a juicy, deeply flavored dish no meat lover could resist. Desserts run the gamut from a dark, rich chocolate fondue with fresh bananas and strawberries ($9) to the appealing, not-too-sweet fried ravioli ($9), filled with chocolate, hazelnuts and banana, and served with hazelnut ice cream and an intense berry sauce. The milk chocolate souffle ($11), with a creamy pudding center, is as comforting as a cup of hot cocoa. The last bite could well be the best at Madison & Fifth. Madison & Fifth 367 University Ave., near Waverley Street, Palo Alto (650) 323-3900. ** 1/2
The Dish: The spirit of the Upper East Side of Manhattan is evoked in this swanky new Palo Alto restaurant. The scene is slick and sophisticated, but the menu is a mixed bag, with more attention too often paid to presentation than to flavor. Price range: Lunch $6-$27. Dinner appetizers $11-$18, entrees $12-$29. Corkage fee: $25. Details: Full bar. Pluses: Excellent caprese salad, sirloin steak slices and fried ravioli. Minuses: Disappointing pumpkin risotto and roasted Cornish game hen. Hours: Lunch noon-3 p.m. daily. Dinner 5-11 p.m. daily. Restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously. The Mercury News pays for all meals. Contact Aleta Watson at awatson@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5032.
Copyright (c) 2006, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
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