 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
Latitude but no attitude
by G.A. Benton
Housed in Downtown's Renaissance Hotel, Latitude 41 named itself
after a cartographical coordinate of Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona's
where Christopher Columbus docked after venturing off to the New
World. So it follows that Latitude 41 - the restaurant - will use
newer ingredients in old-world ways. Got it?
Yeah, I thought it was a bit of a stretch too. But worry not because
41's menu is as straightforward as its naming process was
convoluted.
Maybe the menu's simplicity is a concession to our Midwestern
location. Or maybe it reflects our local ingredients, which 41
pledges it's committed to using. (I happen to know 41 shops the
North Market and happily serves Omega bread and Jeni's ice cream.)
Whatever the reasons, 41 offers much meat, some fish and other
not-unexpected goodies prepared in recipes meant to satisfy, not
challenge.
Things could have been different. 41's head honcho, Dean Max, was
recently selected as South Florida's top chef and given ink in
Gourmet magazine. So Max could've gone more fancy on us.
But if Chef Max is reaching out to Buckeyes with these unfussy
offerings, I personally would like to reach right back and shake his
hand - the man has brought some pretty excellent food to our
restaurant-needy Downtown.
First, the look. A $2.5 million renovation has given the Renaissance
a rambling, window-lined dining room neither formal nor totally
casual - it's somewhere in between. Call it occupying a Midwestern
gulch that takes up more space than is necessary yet never lets you
forget you're sitting in a Marriott.
Still, there's an attractively patterned wooden floor, large
mirrors, modern black tables and yellow padded chairs and thick
floor-to-ceiling red curtains. These theatrical threads section off
areas of the irregular room but also signify there's a show going
on—and that would be the live performance of 41's large, very open
kitchen.
This is where some terrific salads are made. You can actually watch
each leaf of the Caesar ($6.50) being coated in a fine dressing that
nonetheless gets upstaged by a wonderful lemon-soaked white anchovy.
And 41's take on salade Lyonnaise is a must-eat. This Farmer Spinach
salad ($7.50) features a warm duck egg that adds sheen and richness
to an apple vinaigrette, manchego cheese, frisee and lardon of
(sometimes boar-derived) smoky bacon.
On to the entrées. 41's somewhat streamlined menu is very seasonal
and always in flux. Currently there are three beefy options - I tried
the Kansas City Strip ($32), and bit into a very respectable hunk of
good cow flesh. Sided with onion- and bacon-spiked mashed potatoes
plus a tomato chimichurri, it was quite good, if not exactly
revelatory.
More impressive was the Double-Cut Berkshire Pork Chop ($25). You
will not get a better pork chop anywhere else in Columbus. This
one's huge, perfectly grilled and seasoned, extremely juicy and
terrifically clean flavored. I really liked its side of fennel and
frisee tossed in good olive oil with a touch of lemon, but a sweet
potato puree was too much like pie filling.
Wild Tasmanian Salmon ($23) was also of high quality—lean, mean and
fresh tasting. It was partnered with some delicious sweet and
pickled red cabbage, knockwursty garlic sausage and a fingerling
potato salad. It's all good in a Germanic way, but won't likely have
you raving about it the next day.
41's Seafood Strozzepretti ($18) will. The menu describes it having
a tomato broth, but I got a sublime, light lemony sauce punctuated
with garlic and roasted tomato chunks. These—plus parsley and
basil—added flavor to truly great and great big (lobster-tail like)
prawns, and some accompanying mussels plus hunks of good tuna. The
sensational seafood was stacked with tubes of soft and yielding
(i.e. perfect) handmade pasta. This dish is special.
What hasn't always been special is 41's service. On several
occasions I had to endure poorly informed waiters and incorrect
dishes and drinks. Fortunately, on my last visit I had an excellent
and professional waiter.
As I chatted him up, he updated me on a pickled eggplant dish that
also features strozzapretti (gotta love a pasta that translates to
"priest strangler"). I'd previously tried and liked that all-veggie
combo despite its dreary appearance was happy to hear that it'd been
recently re-tooled to look as delicious as it tasted.
These developments let me know 41 is restlessly striving to improve.
You can't ask for much more from an already very good restaurant—no
matter how it got its name.
October 26, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Columbus Alive, Inc. All rights reserved.
<<< BACK TO REVIEWS LIST
|
|
|
|
