Enotria Restaurant & Wine Bar
1431 Del Paso Blvd. (at Arden Way)
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 922-6792
3.5 stars / $$$$
Enotria Restaurant & Wine Bar
Change has been more rule than exception during Enotria's nearly 13-year run.
Usually, the changes in personnel, format, name and the like haven't much registered on the local gastronomic seismograph, and Enotria continued to evolve into one of the city's more secure dining destinations.
 Last fall, however, both executive chef Christian Sieck and longtime manager Michael Chandler left in quick succession, triggering speculation about whether Enotria could retain its standing as one of North Sacramento's rare refined restaurants.
But under Anthony Brenes, who stepped in as both executive chef and manager, and Chad Seaburg, who assumed Chandler's role as wine director, Enotria still is an outpost of adventurous wine exploration and concentrated cooking, now more vigorously New American than Mediterranean.
We were taken aback that the "seasonal" menu ran so richly to wintry dishes so late into spring, but there was no quibbling about the command and measure that Brenes brings to his dishes.
Twin ravioli filled with the lean beef of braised short ribs and finished with a truffled cream sauce read as if they should have been too rich for a warm spring evening, but the sweet zestiness that balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs brought to the assembly lifted it into the realm of sunshine and song ($10).
Similarly, wild rice sweetened and spiced with Pink Lady apples, black currants and ginger lightened the "foie gras butter" that dressed up roasted guinea fowl ($28), while a sweet glaze of maple cider brought buoyancy to a dense and tender chop of roasted kurobuta pork weighed down with a mash of celery root, Italian rapini and wild mushrooms ($30).
Brenes, who also does desserts, gussies up Enotria's acclaimed crème brûlée by whipping up a cloud of tangerine and honey foam and putting it off to one side of the thick, shiny and smoky sugar topping ($8.50).
Less successful was his strawberry and rhubarb gelato ($8). Not only was the almond tuile with which it was to be served missing, the gelato, while faithfully fruity, had a texture more chalky than creamy.
In the spirit of the restaurant's name – "Enotria" is a variation of the Greek word "oenotria," meaning "land of trained vines" – Seaburg is continuing without apparent pruning of Chandler's aggressive and enlightening wine program.
That includes a wine list of some 900 releases, most from California, though no region, no matter how obscure, is likely to be overlooked; a wine tasting every Friday evening; special promotions on Tuesdays; and a slate of three-wine flights that can seem wacky in concept but invariably will be informing.
Though Enotria's front dining room can be borderline claustrophobic, particularly when the bar is crowded, the space overall is comfortable and stylish, due in part to Sacramento artist Charlotte Cooper's impressionistic cityscapes.
Farther back, there's a sunny and more relaxing loggia, and beyond that is garden seating.
Servers were proper without being stiff, balancing attentiveness with friendliness.
These aren't the most encouraging economic times for high-end restaurants, especially in neighborhoods that have struggled for respectability, but Enotria continues to hang in there with optimism and verve. If we're lucky, it will thrive long enough to qualify as a genuine "old vine" of the city's dining community. |
