Mini-Review

Cipollina

Daily, 7:30am-8:00pm

It used to be that Austin foodies only dreamed about gourmet take-out places such as Zabar’s and Dean & Deluca. Until a few years ago, take-out meant commercial fast food, which ultimately translated to “unhealthy, fattening, and fried.” However, with the quiet appearance of homey cafes such as Food! Food! or Cook’s Night Out in the early Nineties, Austinites gradually became acquainted with a healthier type of take-out fare, signaling a culinary sea-change in the city. Now gourmet take-out is about as pervasive as a Seattle coffee shop. In the past year alone, places selling prepared hummus, roasted chicken, grilled vegetable salad, samosas, and to-go sushi have proliferated and fill retail space in almost every neighborhood. And among the newest such eateries is a mod little cafe called Cipollina, located on West Lynn next to the Fresh Plus grocery store.

Cipollina, the newest food venture from the owners of Jeffrey’s, stands out among gourmet take-out cafes, not for its overwhelming variety of comestibles, but for its restrained and elegant integrity. At Cipollina you won’t find flashy combinations of tongue-teasing tastes, no racy concoctions of multiregional provenance. Rather, Cipollina caters simplicity that is simply delicious. Featuring the flavors of northern Italy, the kitchen consistently offers well-conceived, well-prepared dishes that are both tasteful and tasty.

Cipollina Chef de Cuisine Chris Chism has worked with Stephan Pyles in Dallas and at Jeffrey’s last year as their sous-chef, so he is well-skilled in the finesse of fine cuisine. Consequently, ordering from their deli take-out counter can be almost as rewarding as having a meal at the more upscale parent restaurant across the street — but for about a quarter of the price. Take-home items such as veal ossu buco or braised duck seem particularly predisposed to advance preparation. Reheated in a pan or in the microwave, the slow-cooked flavors in the meat are only enhanced when eaten a day later. Other winning take-out items include their roasted fennel with Parmesan, cooked until almost caramelized. Their crabcakes with basil and preserved lemon are fat and meaty. And their asparagus with lemon and olive oil evoke the pictorial, cinematic landscape of northern Italy. You will lick your plate clean of every morsel.

Jeffrey’s owners originally conceived Cipollina as an upscale take-out branch of their popular restaurant, catering to outside dinner parties and sophisticated degustations. However, during the planning stages, they decided to augment the catering business with a sit-down menu of sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and soups. The resulting olive-colored cafe is stylish and casual, with tables set up near the storefront window that allow plenty of opportunities for viewing not only the passing traffic, but also the open kitchen behind the deli counter. Lunchtimes are always crowded. In fact, the cafe has proved to be so successful that its owners are now in the process of applying for a beer and wine license in order to expand food service during lunch and dinner.

Freshly made, informal fare awaits the on-premises diner who longs for immediate gratification. My favorite sandwich is the smoked salmon bruschetta. Visualize a crispy slice of grilled bread blanketed with herby aioli, and surmounted by balsamic-dressed field greens. This basic architecture then buttresses a tall pile of cured, smoked salmon. Its visual impact is impressive, however, there’s really no elegant way to eat it. It’s best to just engineer its consumption with straightforward gusto, making sure that every bite contains a little of all the essential building blocks in this harmonious, toothsome combination.

I also love the stracciatella soup — a garlicky tomato broth whisked with egg and spinach. It has a warmth that spreads over the tongue and seeps into the senses. Other successful cafe items I’ve tried include a mixed field greens salad topped with roasted pork loin and apples, and a spinach, artichoke, and goat cheese pizza. Basically, though, whether you order prepared meats and salads from their deli take-out case for a tasting at home, or decide to dine in with a soup, sandwich, salad, or pizza, there is really no way to go wrong at Cipollina.

This article appears in June 30 • 2000.