A place at the table
Siena makes its mark with supreme Italian contemporary cuisine
By Dan O'Heron 07/24/2008
Cookbooks tell us that there are 12 culinary regions in Italy. Travel agents — to maintain region-cred — tell us there are 20. I say that an American chef in Pasadena has expanded the boundaries beyond that.
You don’t need a course in alimentary geography to see that Robert Humphreys, owner and executive chef of the new Siena restaurant, has earned a place on the map.
Each dish I sampled there was a very distinct and beautifully presented take on contemporary Italian cuisine. It was obvious from the first bite that Humphreys labors over details and truly believes that what is cooked without effort is eaten without pleasure.
For starters at many Italian restaurants, you get to swish bread into plain olive oil. Here, the oil is infused with nicks of thyme, garlic, rosemary and more. Swirling is a delight and a basket of fresh bread empties quickly.
Humphreys said he attains the soft texture of his pillowy potato gnocchi by working the dough delicately, cutting and rolling it while warm and poaching instead of boiling.
And the calamari. Wow! Normally I wouldn’t touch calamari with a 10-foot barge pole: fodder for happy hour, at best. But this frito misto calamari (plus shrimp, scallops, baby artichoke and zucchini), dipped in a Meyer lemon aioli, had me hooked. Generously portioned, and only $7 at lunch, the morsels — firm, sweet and just-right chewy — bubbled with a silvery batter that was as light as dandelion fluff, yet emitted an audible click when bitten.
After such promising preludes, would Hunphreys’ imagination be exhausted? Not with wild mushroom bruschetta with roasted garlic mascarpone mousse. As a meat lover, I had no idea that I was eating vegetables: The mushrooms tasted like chips of beef.
The 27-year-old Humphreys has a resume covering a variety of tastes: French, fusion, California, avant-garde. Recent engagements included stints at Medidona, a Mediterranean favorite in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Wabi-Sabi, a hip and happening Asian Fusion café in Venice; and at Joachim Splichal’s California-New American flagship restaurant, Patina, in the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
So why did he choose to open his first restaurant as Italian? “I was very impressed at Patina by the way Chef Theo Schoenegger infused Italian to Splichal’s menu,” he said. “His house-made pastas, particularly flavored pastas and gnocchi were superb. And there seemed to be no better way to express my passion for cooking than Italian.”
His rendition sparkles as contemporary Italian, with sauces lighter than traditional dishes, but with no loss of classic tastes. And all pastas are made fresh, including an inspiration crafted from porcini mushrooms.
I can still taste the squid-inked semolina linguini with crabs, clams, morel mushrooms and leeks. An heirloom tomato salad with ultra-creamy burrata cheese and toasted pine nut pesto proved to be another course to linger over. And for dessert, I found it hard to leave the mound of goat cheese centered in a moat of juicy fruits.
Lunch prices range from $7 for sandwiches to $13 for pastas. Dinners range from $13 to $17 for pastas, $11 to $15 for pizzas. Major entrees include a classic cioppino fisherman’s stew for $17 and a Sonoma duck breast, presented with black stained rice confit. I can well imagine that the rice with painstaking Humphreys magic might cook to a creamy smoothness, yet retain its shape and nearly al dente texture.
Wine lovers can raise their glasses to a small but selective list. It includes Brunello Di Montalcino, Italy. Drawn from a special variant of the Sangiovese Chianti grape, Italian regulations governing production require it to be aged at least four years prior to release — most of the time in a barrel or a wood cask. Powerful, it resonates of berries, spice and leather ($85). For days of truffles and roses, there’s a more powerful red — Barolo, “The Wine of Kings,” nearly shrill with intense bouquet, selling for $75.
For notes of roses and sour cherries leading to scents of white pepper and hazelnuts, a popular favorite is Chianti, poured for only $5 a glass. For more food-friendly red wines at moderate prices, waiter Mack Marquard will help you in the matchmaking. For a summer-friendly white, ask him to describe the lusciousness of a $7.50 glass of Robert Mondavi Chardonnay, Solaire.
The restaurant will be closed Aug. 12-26 as Humphreys will be off to Florence and Siena — his restaurant’s namesake — to study Tuscan cookery, which still relies mainly on ingredients that are gathered, cultivated or reared locally. “Like me,” said Humphreys.
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