Relish: Slow down, save some cash, enjoy Giacomo's

By Catherine Bratic & Sarah Rutledge     3/11/10 6:00pm

Since it opened last semester, Giacomo's Cibo e Vino on Westheimer Road has had Houston foodies buzzing. It's easy to see why: Giacomo's is everything that Italian dining should be, serving high-quality food that's true to tradition without putting pressure on wallets or waistlines. The restaurant, named after the owner's dog, is an unpretentious, off-the-beaten-path eating establishment that introduces customers to European Italian cuisine, a welcome break from the generic Italian-American chains that populate Houston.In fact, Giacomo's demonstrates the type of counter-style dining one may expect to see in Venice. The modern retro interior is all clean colors and crisp lines, and features a wall bedecked with colorful trapezoids, itself a representation of the up-to-date attitude of the restaurant with traditional offerings and service. Upon their entry, guests are directed to a cafeteria line, where they can choose from three types of dining. The first is cibo subito (immediate food), which includes a selection of cichetti, or antipasti, soups and sandwiches. Diners may also opt to wait a short time for cibo rapido (fast food) of pastas and salads, or slightly longer for cibo lento (slow food), main courses of pastas and meats. Our party opted for a variety of the three dining options, and everything arrived promptly. Though we at first felt overwhelmed by Giacomo's unconventional dining options, we found the wait staff friendly and helpful, as they offered suggestions for entrees and antipasti options that were not featured on the menu.

We started with a selection platter of tapas-style cichetti, choosing six dishes to try from rotating offerings available at the front counter. The first standout, a mix of roast beets, hazelnuts, fennel, goat cheese and tarragon, was a delightful combination that intrigued even the non-beet lover. The beet and goat cheese, an unlikely combination, played very well together, while the hazelnuts offered a nice crunch. However, the beet overpowered the other ingredients, an unfortunate result of the serving's scoop from a larger dish. We were once again blown away by a tuna and white bean mélange, marked with sun-dried tomatoes and celery. The starchiness of the cannellini beans cut through the fishiness one would normally associate with tuna, leaving a gentle tuna salad that was more flavorful and less harsh than the more mainstream sandwich fare.

A simple ratatouille also caught everyone's attention for its rich flavors in the absence of excessive olive oil, which frequently plagues this dish. The vegetables were cooked to perfection, being neither too mushy nor too crunchy, and allowed the dish to be one cohesive unit rather than a disparate arrangement of varying textures. Among the other cichetti, a broccoli, olive and ricotta salata mix and marinated mushrooms neither particularly pleased nor disappointed. Both made good additions to our selection plate, but neither would have stood well on their own. The sixth antipasto, an acidic shrimp and calamari pairing, came out rubbery and disappointing, particularly in comparison to the other intriguing offerings. However, for those in favor of sampling a calamari not straight from the deep fryer, the lemon flavor of this marinated calamari provided a fresh take on a familiar seafood.

---

---

Just as we finished our appetizer, the prepared dishes arrived from the kitchen. Timing was not an issue for us that night; however, had we been searching for a more relaxed evening meal, the quick pace would have rushed us. Of course, long and leisurely dining is not Giacomo's aim, though the restaurant boasts both families and businesspeople negotiating deals over a glass of wine and dinner.

We chose two pasta dishes and one meat selection for our main course. In both of the former cases, the pasta was obviously made on site, and the emphasis was on the exceptional quality of simple ingredients rather than on a barrage of flavors. In the case of the tortellini in brodo, however, the simplicity was overdone. The dish is perhaps best viewed as an Italian version of wonton soup, consisting of a handful of meat-filled tortellini in a clear broth. While the pasta was well-made, the dish lacked flavor and intrigue and would have been fairly bland and disappointing had it been a meal alone. In addition, for college students looking for a filling, high-value meal, this was not quite it. Although the dish didn't cost nearly as much as the pasta dishes ($6 instead of $11-12), it featured significantly less food: about ten pieces of tortellini, which disappeared in no time.

The pappardelle al telefono, on the other hand, was brilliant. Melt-in-your-mouth homemade pasta ribbons were coated in a chunky sauce of cherry tomato, garlic and basil, with slices of fresh, melted mozzarella sitting on top. Although the concept was simple, each component stood out for its exceptional flavor quality, effectively transforming a simple pasta-in-tomato-sauce dish into a bowl that encouraged appreciation of Italian cuisine at its finest. Ultimately, much Italian food is simple, and Giacomo's ability to inspire this appreciation with so few ingredients showcases the restaurant's strengths: painstaking attention to high-quality ingredients, like the punch of the cherry tomatoes and softness of the pappardelle. Though we did not sample all of the homemade pasta entrees, we encourage those who visit Giacomo's to order items off that section of the menu. The few pasta dishes not made on site, however, are made from pasta imported from Italy, so expect an Italian experience regardless.

The standout of the evening, however, was the meat dish, the gamberi al diavolo, marinated shrimp settled in a sauce that was both spicy and just slightly sour. Long after the shrimp were finished, we were still reaching over to soak up the sauce with crisp and chewy baguette pieces.

Giacomo's bread is worthy of praise in a restaurant environment that all too often disregards the bread plate as simply an accessory to the meal. The wine list is also beyond compare, offering more than 50 exceptional offerings from around the world in bottles, half bottles, glasses and three ounce "tastes." The range of wines and sizes allows wine to be an affordable addition to the dining experience, in line with the European dining philosophy that views no meal as complete without an alcoholic complement.

Giacomo's casual environment and reasonable portion sizes make it an excellent low-key date-night venue on the way to a concert or movie. The food is exceptional without being overly filling or showy, and the variety of vegetables, starches, seafood and meats will please any diner. Most importantly, the prices are congruent with a student's budget. With our cichetti platter and main courses, our meal came out to a practical $15 a person, leaving us pleased and able to afford a return in the near future.

Catherine Bratic is a Hanszen College senior, and Sarah Rutledge is a Martel College senior.

You can find Giacomo's website here. You can also see some older reviews.

---