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| - Carino Bistro is like the Jake the Snake of Calgary's restaurant scene. They're not strolling about all 'roided and oiled up with whatever is left over in their pantry with 80's hair fashion scene draped over their scalps. No like Jake they simply cut a slick promo quoting the Bible with a cold dead eyed stare, stroll casually into the ring, drop somebody's head with a DDT, and dump a bag of snakes on their head. A pro-wrestling fan an art knows a master when they see. And as a fine food fan I know when something beyond good work is being done. Carino brings a whole show of their own with an Italian and French fused approach to Japanese food without any flash and flare. They brought forth amazing dishes what simple menu that constantly changes, evoking a tireless imagination. With Reserva, despite a more focused direction towards Italian style, they've maintain the same standard.
I'm not going to lie, I had no clue of Reserva's existence till we stumbled upon on it on a Saturday night because we were looking for a place to eat after Anejo (which I hate to say is the Ranchmans of Calgary's restaurants) gave us an hour wait time for a table for two. First of all, this is one bold area to be opening an Italian restaurant considering Bocce and Mercato (and ok Famoso) are lurking nearby. I could have almost walked if my GF hadn't read "Carino" in the name.
First of it's a small space, so small I'm surprised how they managed to fit a small dining space, an open kitchen, and two tiny bathrooms. I'm not even sure Starbucks could have managed with such a small space. Still the ambience was romantic, welcoming, and far from claustrophobic.
Because of the prices and our limited hunger, we decided to split our courses. We first started with the Hot Pot soup, which I could easily say is my favourite dish on their menu. It's evolved from the website's menu description as we were served a wonderful medley of fish, mussels, mushrooms, soft tofu, and the most well-crafted pillows of ricotta gnocchi. The broth was clean and fresh, but abundant in flavor that tied all it's accoutrements together. I've never imagined that soft tofu and gnocchi would find a rightful place in this light soup.
We also ordered a few sides. Bread with pesto and onigiri. The pesto was fresh and seasoned perfectly that we would have smacked the person who dared to throw in a pinch of salt into it. The onigiri didn't make much of an impression with me but for its miniscule price, it was worth the try since you'd never find such an item with most Japanese/Japanese influence restaurants.
Next we had trout with crab risotto and mixed green salad. It was quite generous for a Secondi course this was quite generous considering all they could have given us was meat and veggies. The crab risotto was creamy and delicious though I have to be honest, wasn't the best risotto I've had in the city.
We didn't care much for dessert since we were stuffed, but from the looks of it, the dessert menu was strictly Italian, with the exception of match green tea ice cream. Next time, I'll be sure to try their tiramisu.
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