DINING OUT:
DANTE (1/05)

by Sue Brode

Dante (View Map)
215 Walton Street
Armory Square,
Downtown Syracuse
(315) 479-9383
www.dantedining.com

For eight years, Hans Lazuardi operated restaurants in the downstate area: Rockland and Orange County, Manhattan, places like that. Then one day he happened to travel upstate to visit his friend Max, who runs Lemon Grass in Armory Square. Hans was highly impressed by the activity taking place in the refurbished downtown Syracuse area, and Max at once convinced Hans that he ought to be a part of it. Shortly, Hans and his wife Ing were in the process of moving upstate, where they opened DANTE (named after a legendary Renaissance poet) at 215 Walton. The trick, of course, was to come up with a concept that could compete with the plentiful variety of exciting and unique restaurants that were already successful in The Square. Checking over the situation, Hans realized that the one strong possibility which didn’t yet exist at that time was a “Cucina Innovativa” – an international cuisine that liberally mixed some of the greatest elements of Italian and Spanish cuisine.

His upscale eatery now features precisely that, with a menu that changes approximately every four months to offer variety within the consistency of high quality that this elegant yet unpretentious fine dining spot offers. Intimate and atmospheric, staffed by ultra-professional waiters, DANTE offers a current menu that begins with a series of salads and other items which combines some of the most popular and expected items with something a little different for those with an adventurous bent. The simple Mix Green Salad ($4.75) is served with Olive vinaigrette, and drizzled with balsamic reduction for an extra kick. What makes the pan fried calamari appetizer ($8.75) a little different from most in town (and far tastier than many of them) is the addition of spicy tomatoes, reduced to a sharp sauce that augments without overwhelming the seafood. Fresh fried Mozzarella ($6.75) is served with Roma tomato and basil pesto, while the heart of Romaine ($7.75) comes with a ‘crumble’ of walnut praline, augmented by chicken and finished with Parmagiano vinaigrette. Shrimp in salsa Verde ($9.50) comes sautéed with a “Galvin farm” oyster mushroom, the item completed with a white wine sauce. For veggie lovers, there’s a Shitake mushroom salad ($7.75) that features butter crunch, Gorgonzola, almonds, and one of the most unique taste treats in the CNY area, a Lavender vinaigrette. The artichoke heart ($8.75) features roasted artichoke heart with mortadella, roasted pepper,corn bread, fontina Cheese and chive mayonnaise.

In each case, what makes the salads and appetizers ‘work’ so well is the striking combination of a traditional item with Hans’s personal approach to sauces and seasonings. This leads to a taste that adds a unique variation to one of the diner’s favorite conventional items. One experiences, simply, the best of both worlds.
As always, we (a party of three, including our youngest son) chose to share a series of appetizers, including the tasty shrimp, the luscious calamari, and my husband’s perennial favorite, Sauteed mussels ($8.75). The special approach to this item is achieved by Hans’s decision to augment the beloved seafood taste with ancho chile broth and a touch of basil, giving the mussels a uniquely appealing ‘kick.’

DANTE offers a variety of pasta dishes that include angel hair paradiso ($10.50), served wit a chunky tomato sauce and topped with melted smoked mozzarella; a spaghetti dish ($13.50) that features a Parmaggiano cream and broccoli sauce, topped off with a hint of nutmeg (served with either chicken breast or shrimp for an addition four dollar charge); linguini alla vongole ($14.50), the pasta combined with a baby clam sauce and offered in either white wine or marinara sauce presentations; orrechette ($15.50) with sweet sausage and calmari, mixed in tomato and completed with a vodka and butter sauce; and Gnocchi ($16.50), with pan seared sea scallops and a combination of pine nut, scallion, and brown butter. Perhaps Hans’s proudest presentation here is the Penne ($15.50), the traditional pasta favorite served rather unconventionally with a chicken breast, artichoke heart, sun-dried tomato and a light cream sauce. (For vegetarians, this can also be served without the chicken).

As with all the other items listed so far, Dante allows you the opportunity of enjoying a dining item that you traditionally return to, only here prepared in such a way that the best about the conventional dish is retained while a unique fine dining twist is added as well. That’s true of most of the items on the Main Course menu. Each served with a choice of roasted potato or sweet potato and vegetable, they include Mozzarella stuffed chicken ($15.50), a roasted breast with sweet sausage, roasted red pepper, white wine and garbanzo bean; Baked eggplant ($14.75), layered with roasted tomatoes and wilted radicchio as well as smoked mozzarella; pork chop ($18.50), a double cut stuffed with gorgonzola and shitake in cider, then brandy glazed; seafood cartocio ($20.75), a mélange of seafood in aromatic broth with linguini, baked in parchment paper; and crispy duck ($19.95), with plum and grappa sauce, berry compote.

As always, I’m the beefeater of the bunch. So I opted for the trio of petite beef fillet ($23.50), larded with double smoked bacon, pink peppercorn onion, and oyster mushroom and marsala sauce. The remarkable taste given to the high quality beef was enhanced by the striking presentation, as each dish in DANTE has a remarkable look.

My husband loves veal, particularly when done in a unique manner, so there was never much doubt that he would opt for the braised veal ossobucco ($23.75), done in the Basque style in white wine and red pepper, with Marcones almond. The plentiful dish featured a taste that was just spicy enough to give the melt in your mouth veal a once in a lifetime quality while still adhering to the tenets of traditional ossobucco.

An entire section of the menu is dedicated to the “flavor of Spain” specialties, that include traditional and daily inspired paella and also platos pricipales (unique entrees). As Chef Lazuardi notes, Paella is a typical Spanish dish that is served all over Spain, and available there from every possible angle, including street vendors and the finest dining establishments. There are many ways to cook paella, with its unique base of tasty yellow rice. At DANTE, the paella is made from a traditional Spanish rice named “Calaspara” (short grain) which is cooked in a “steel” called “Paellera,” which creates a smoky essence and keeping the bottom part of the rice crisp. Our son tried (and loved) the Paella Marinera ($20.50), with includes sweet sausage, prawn, mussel, clam, calamari, scallop and white fish, served sizzling over the bed of rice. There is also Valenciana ($18.50), with chicken, rabbit, chorizos, pork, calamari, shrimp, and mussel, and Asiana ($15.50), assorted vegetables with roasted tomato, chicken, pork, and red curry flavor.
Other dinner entrees created with the Spanish influence in mind dare the aforementioned “Platos “Principales,” which allow you to choose between pork, beef, prawn, chicken, and vegetarian, served Al Jerez (Sherry sauce with peppers, potato, mushroom and sweet peas), Ranchero (country sauce with Ancho cille, onion, tomato, albarino wine and kidney bean), and Al Ajillo (Gallic sauce, sautéed with Vidalia onion, roasted garlic, baked tomato and saffron rice). These range in price from $15.95 to $19.95.

The desserts are as unique as the main menu items and change more or less daily to offer variety as well as quality. A remarkable wine list runs six full pages, and allows you to choose from the moderately priced through to the extravagant. Wines are also available by the glass, beginning at a notably economical price of $3.50 for the Beni di Batasiolo.

DANTE is highly recommended as one of Syracuse’s most unique fine dining experiences. For reservations or more information, call 479 9383; please mention that you read about DANTE in the “Dining Out” column of TABLE HOPPING magazine.