October 26, 2014

Il Covo Trattoria, James Bay, Victoria

The Superior Cafe  served up some excellent food, for both brunch and evening meals.  Apart from its questionable live music choices, it was one the best lesser known eateries in Victoria.  Sadly, there was ownership changes of the building, and the chef and restaurateur moved on, and it became a supper club.   And then nothing...

Until this summer, when Il Covo opened.  I'd vaguely heard about a new place opening, but hadn't really enquired much, with a list of other places I wanted to try for evening dining, and a limited set of opportunities.  Then I had a Wednesday evening booked with the gorgeous Brunette of my Acquaintance, and I'd seen a re-tweet of a BC Hydro candle-lit evening offer.  With the Il Covo on the list, and after looking it up, I decided this was the place to try out.

We arrived early, and had to wait outside while they prepared the candle.  The Superior used to have a cluttered feel, with a lot of art, odd tables scattered around and an awkwardly placed stage.  This has been considerably cleaned up, with a more formal lay out of the seating. The stage has gone, opening up the room with a large picture window at one end.  The high ceilings, lit by a huge chandelier (dim electric bulbs, not candles even for this event) made for a much more open, easy feel.

The place was dark and intimate for this BC Hydro special: being green by dining out by candle light.  Even if candles are probably more expensive in terms of energy to produce than the hydro-electric powered bulbs.  But also a little more romantic.  And it made us realise how dark it must have been living in candle-powered houses in the 1700's.  It also made the menus a lot harder to read, though I noticed one expert diner had their own pocket flashlight.

We settled in with a cocktail.  The Brunette opted for a Negroni, made specially with an Artichoke based Vermouth, which she had loved at Be Love.  The bartender went and found it in their back bar when asked, which was good of them to make a substitution. I went for a saffron infused martini.  Which was a little dry for my tastes, so they sweetened it up.  This made it perfect to sip along with my meal, keeping the taste buds alive and interested.  The Negroni got a full thumbs up too.

For starter, we shared a platter of 'Antipasto mistto della casa', a mix of vegetables and meat.  The pickled and roasted peppers were fantastically sweet.  The pesto and mozzarella piles with a juicy tomato had all the flavours that you expected in Italian food.  The fatty mouth feel of the cheese, the basil and olive oil richness and the tart sharpness of tomato. The other parts were almost as good, but these two items stood out. We were also served two bowls of bread, with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dipping mix.  I made the school boy error of eating far too much of it before my pasta arrived.  But it was so good.  Light and crumbly with a just crusty enough crust.

Still, I had just room left for my 'Pesto alla Genovese'.  A pile of linguine, covered in a rich pesto sauce and mingled in with new potatoes and green beans.  The potatoes were waxy and had a rich, earthy flavour, set off with the pesto sauce. I could have eaten a pile of these without the pasta. The pasta was al dente, cooked just right to carry and cradle the sauce. And the green beans didn't disappoint.  Blanched beans are one of my favourite foods as they work well so many cuisines, and give a firm bite to food but with a tender, almost sweet flavour.

The Brunette went for the seared yellow fin tuna.  I've often had over-cooked and tough tuna steak, or worse still, its seared to a mush on the outside, but a cold purple on the inside, with neither part having any flavour.  Il Covo turned my views on tuna steak around.  This was juicy and flavourful.  There was a touch of the brine in the steak, setting of the meaty, umami flavour of the flesh.  The vegetables included more of the roasted peppers, with a zesty sauce on top.

The meal was finished with a small morsel of chocolate truffles.  We got those to go, stuffed to the gunnels with the bread, entrées and antipasti.  Our server boxed them up nicely, though the cream and strawberry topping had gotten all a little smushed around the tin foil tray.  After a spot of digestion back at the VicInPerson ranch, we ate them with a cup of tea, and they were much appreciated.

The downside to the romantic candles was the inability to see the food.  I think it would have looked as great as it tasted, but we just don't know... until we go back.


Il Covo Trattoria on Urbanspoon

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