A Mediterranean breeze
The bikini-clad sunbakers are littering the parks like flotsam and jetsam. Outdoor beer bars are appearing faster than a case of heat rash. And the weekend queues for a scoop of Zielona Budka ice cream are in danger of taking over the footpaths. Yes, summer is in full bloom in Warsaw. It's taken a while, but it looks like the overcast and wet weekends have dried up (for the moment) and the hot days are stretching into one long heat haze. Commuters are sweltering on vacuum-sealed trams; workers are melting in non-air-conditioned offices; and the summer fashions are short and sheer. When the mercury rises like this, the only solution is to find the coolest place in town and relax.
And the place we found to escape the heat was St. Antonio. Think mid-city, think ulica Marszałkowska, think crowded park and finally, think peaceful haven. Somehow this Italian restaurant, which promotes itself as being "unusual," has found a quiet corner in the middle of this car-crazy city. Opened in 1998, St. Antonio hides on of Saski Park - but it's the quiet edge that runs along ulica Senatorska. The restaurant's ornate interior - a kind of Venice-meets-Florence-meets-Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (with an Italian-Polish lesson tape playing in the loo) - opens it's large glass doors onto a spacious deck, and a garden dotted with tables and chairs, umbrellas, flowers, a white picket fence, and the most wondrous view of the wooded landscape of Saski Park. In the long twilight evenings synonymous with this time of year, it's a perfect place to relax, drink some chilled wine and choose from an Italian menu that continues to delight. Four of us gathered there on a recent balmy night for a spur-of-the-moment dinner after work.
The menu is a mix of traditional Italian dishes with a few surprises that can be hard to find elsewhere in Warsaw - grilled calamari, crepes stuffed with ricotta and spinach served on a wild-mushroom sauce, roast leg of lamb served with spicy tomato sauce and eggplant risotto, and sole stuffed with crabmeat served with broccoli and a saffron sauce. Being a warm night, we shared a plate of antipasto and the grilled calamari. The servings - meant for one - whet our appetites perfectly. The grilled calamari really was chargrilled and oh-so-tender, and was dressed in a light olive oil, wine and garlic sauce that enhanced rather than drenched. The antipasto was a mix of chargrilled eggplant, zucchini and capsicum, artichoke hearts, salami, mussels and dried tomatoes. It was stylishly dressed and made a grand entrance. But the encore - our main courses - were just as impressive. Magda's orecchiette alla Pugliese, saw the delightfully named, "little ear" pasta, tossed with broccoli, chanterelle mushrooms, anchovies and garlic, with just a dash of olive oil. Simple and fresh, "and just the sort of pasta that's perfect for a hot summer night," Magda said.
I chose the standard saltimbocca alla Romana - tender veal with Parma ham and sage leaves in a very light wine and butter sauce. But this restaurant proved to be a little special, serving the meal on thin slices of polenta lightly crisped in olive oil accompanied by coils of fresh, lightly steamed spinach. In an inspired moment, Jim selected the tortelloni stuffed with quail meat and served in a creamy wild mushroom sauce. The combination was almost perfect - the delicate flavor of quail and a light cream sauce. The only problem was that the pasta filling was marred with a heavy-handed dose of onion that drowned the other flavors. As for David, who is fast becoming somewhat of a lamb connoisseur, it came as little surprise that he chose the grilled lamb chops with goat cheese gnocchi and rosemary sauce.
"It's really, really nice," he said between mouthfuls. He wouldn't be drawn on any more tasty comments. "I'm not into giving quotes at the moment," he explained. Dessert was just as grand: a slice of cool tiramisu, its sweetness foiled by wonderfully bitter cocoa, and a panna cotta with a fresh raspberry sauce ... that was a little on the firm side instead of being the usually sensual, quivering mass of set double cream that I love. Dinner for four (excluding drinks) came to zł. 254 ($60.50).
From the menu: Grilled calamari zł. 29 Antipasto misto zł. 39 Eggplant tower with mascarpone, tomatoes and pesto sauce zł. 29 Orecchiette pasta with broccoli, chanterelles, anchovies and garlic zł. 26 Crepes filled with ricotta and spinach served on a wild mushroom sauce zł. 27 Tortelloni with quail served in a creamy wild mushroom sauce zł. 29 Grilled lamb chops served with goat cheese gnocchi and rosemary sauce zł. 49 Veal with Parma ham and sage in a wine and butter sauce zł. 42 Tiramisu zł. 21 Panna cotta zł 19
