Grubtrotters

Only in Venice would a neighbor at the next table see me salivating over her truffle pasta and offer me the first bite. It was Saturday night at Ado, the cute little Italian joint in the homey space formerly occupied by Amuse, and Allison was in the mood to share. I happily accepted her offer, even while wondering where on earth they found truffles this time of year. Australia?

Ado, a joint venture between Paolo Cesaro (Hidden and Via Veneto) and Chef Antonio Mure (Piccolo, La Botte, Locanda Veneta) opened last month with little fanfare, but the place already is already buzzing with a distinct party vibe. The space is tiny — only about 10 tables — and a little hot upstairs, but the service is fantastic and the food is pretty darned good.

My only beef about Ado is the price. Vic and I ordered two appetizers, one pasta, two entrees and two glasses of Nerello Mascalese wine. Even without dessert or a full bottle of wine, the meal tab came to $178 with tip. They actually charged us for three glasses of wine, but Vic caught the mistake. Still, the bill was pretty steep for an Italian meal in this economy, and I ate better for less last month on a trip to Florence. Not that the Venetians at Ado seemed to mind. Everyone was having a great time. And I must admit that the appetizer portions at Ado were huge. You could easily save a few bucks by ordering an appetizer and pasta instead of a main course.

When we arrived at Ado, a gaggle of gorgeous Italian men greeted us with “Buona Sera” and showed us upstairs to a table covered in white cloth and a single candle. There seemed to be almost as many servers as diners, which made for highly attentive (but not annoying) service that was rather polished for such a new place. We started the meal with a Parma Prosciutto and Burrata cheese appetizer (pictured above). The cheese was creamy and luscious, the prosciutto a salty winner. You can’t go wrong with this one. We also tried the Warm Baby Artichokes Hearth with Dungeness Crab Meat, Mache salad and Grape Must Reduction. This starter had a boatload of crab meat but could have used a tad more flavor — more of the must reduction, perhaps.

Next we shared the Home-made Pappardelle served with Rabbit Ragu, Porcini Mushrooms and Dried Prune. Dried prunes? I was a little concerned about that, but they actually added a sweet little flavor kick that balanced out this hearty dish. The thick ribbons of pasta were cooked quite al dente. Nice overall, but not especially memorable.

My main course, however, was a huge winner. The Grilled Colorado Lamb Chop stuffed with Pesto and served with a Red Wine and Mustard Sauce was fantastic. The meat was tender, cooked flat and then rolled up with the pesto filling. The sauce was salty — I like salty — and complex. So good. Vic ordered the Pan sautéed Beef Filet Mignon served with Crispy Prosciutto and a Pink Peppercorn Sauce. Sounded wonderful, and it wasn’t bad at all. But if you have a choice between the filet and the lamb chops, go with the lamb chops for sure. The sauce was just better, the dish itself more interesting. Both of our entrees were served with a side of carrots, potatoes and sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, which looked like potatoes and tasted sort of like a crunchy root vegetable.

I wish we’d had room for dessert, but like I said, the portions were massive, and we were stuffed by the end of the meal. The service was so friendly, the folks at Ado made you feel like you were stopping by their home for a dinner party. The valet saw us coming down the stairs and brought us the correct car without us even giving him the ticket. What a great place for date night. I have a feeling Ado is going to be hard to get into very soon, but if you do make it, don’t forget to share some truffles with your neighbor. — Jenny

Ado: 796 Main Street
Venice, 310-399-9010.

Now that I’ve tried juicy buns, I can’t get enough. I’m totally hooked on these Chinese soup-filled dumplings. In the past couple of weeks, Vic and I slurped up pork and crab juicy buns for dinner with his parents at the excellent chef-owned Shanghai restaurant Hunan Cottage in Fairfield, NJ. Then, as soon as we got home to the West Coast, we headed straight to the famous Din Tai Fung Dumpling House in Arcadia, CA, for a brunch of 10 juicy pork and crab dumplings and another 10 without the crab. Soup dumplings are just so much fun. They’re like Christmas presents, nicely wrapped and filled with goodies. Feasting on them is sheer juicy nirvana.

Having tried them three times in as many weeks, I think the buns at Cheng Du 23 are the best, maybe because they were my first. Of course, Vic is more of a soup dumpling veteran, and he agreed. They were huge and bursting with flavorful soup. Hunan Cottage comes in a close second and Din Tai Fung third, only because their dumplings were smaller and slightly less juicy. At Din Tai Fung, I could pop the entire dumpling in my mouth and swallow it almost whole. At Cheng Du 23, I had to poke a hole in the dumpling and sip the soup out first, savoring the flavor longer.

Of course, dumplings were not all we ate at either location. It wouldn’t be a meal with Vic’s parents without ordering far more than we could possibly consume in a single sitting. Some of the highlights included fantastic drunken chicken, a Shanghai specialty that used Chinese rice wine as a marinade, and tasty vegetarian mock duck, made of tofu and flavored with star anise.

The giant shrimp in a spicy chili sauce was also extremely tasty, so much so that we brought the extra sauce home. It was too good to waste. Messy, too, though. These prawns came with the heads on, and you had to get your fingers dirty to get to the good stuff. At Din Tai Fung, we mainly stuck to dumplings, their specialty, but we also enjoyed a special noodle dish topped with beef and spicy roast beef soup. The shrimp and pork shiaomai were also lovely.

Vic had visited Din Tai Fung in Taiwan years ago, but this was our first trip to the dumpling house in Arcadia. Our new friends Annie and her husband Victor — another Chinese Victor — joined us. The restaurant actually has two locations in Arcadia, and we visited the newer one, which had a sleek contemporary look (pictured below). There’s a window near the entrance where you can watch the guys in the kitchen rolling the dough and making the dumplings. You know you’re in L.A. because the guys in the kitchen are all Hispanic rather than Chinese.

The restaurant is also packed with cute little Asian babies. I’d heard nightmares about the wait at Din Tai Fung, but we only had a few minutes before getting seated, and all the adorable kids kept us amused. At the end of our meal, I was so full, I thought I’d have no room for dessert. But then they brought the red bean dumplings, and I gobbled them up. Now that we’ve tried it, I have a feeling we’re going to be making regular trips from Venice to Arcadia. Given the lack of decent Chinese food on the West side, it’s well worth the drive. — Jenny

Din Tai Fung: 1088 South Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA; 626-446-8588
Hunan Cottage: 14 US Highway 46, Fairfield, NJ, 973-808-8328