TheTripChick's Reviews

The Best Veal Piccata I Have Had the Pleasure of Tasting

CinCin was our second choice after we learned that our first choice for Italian in Vancouver was booked. Boy, am I glad that was the case! From the moment of arrival, we were welcomed into the terracotta glow that infuses CinCin and produces a gorgeous feeling of warmth and camaraderie. We requested a quiet table and considering the size of the restaurant coupled with the tiled floors, they complied perfectly. We had a nice view of the wood-fired pizza ovens but after seeing the menu, had too many other mouthwatering options to choose from. Our server was grace itself and managed our table expertly...many could learn from her! We began with the beef Carpaccio. It was accompanied by butternut squash and grana padano and finished with a port and shallot puree. While it was quite good, it was not anything truly amazing. Great-quality beef, but it did not make my taste buds spontaneously burst into song (although that would come later). Next, I ordered the veal Piccata, which was wood-fire grilled and finished with a lemon-caper sauce. The veal was aria-inducing...amazingly thin, pounded within an inch of its life, and absolutely melted in my mouth. The sauce was just pungent enough to produce the slightest pucker and it complemented the sublime smoothness of the veal perfectly. The side was a small dish of Parmesan creamed spinach topped with Yukon gold potato and crowned with an heirloom tomato compote. It was lovely, but completely eclipsed by the veal. We ended our meal with a selection of five cheeses: Ash Chevrotina from BC, Farmhouse Cheddar from England, Bleu De Laqueuille from France, Corsu Vecchio from Corsica and Comox Valley Camembert from BC. The plate was dressed with bread, apple slices and Concord grapes and was an ideal finish to our delicious evening. I highly recommend CinCin for Italian when you're in Vancouver!

Reviewed on: October 25, 2008