may 24

MAY 24 / 2003

RENATO'S ITALIAN KITCHEN - DIFFICULT TO REVIEW

If you drive by Renato's Italian Kitchen, located at 9511 - 118 Avenue, chances are you will be underwhelmed. It has a non-descript exterior that looks like many other stores and services on its block, in what is not generally regarded as the best area in Edmonton.

However, a good friend of mine who lives in the area and very involved with the community rehabilitation, said that I might be very pleasantly surprised if I gave it a try.

So a few weeks later, I met Corinne, an old lady-friend who I hadn't seen in eight years or more, at Renato's for dinner.

I must say, that despite events that would read like "A Comedy of Errors", we kind of liked the place. Although I would not travel half way across the city to dine there again, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to eat there if already in the general neighborhood.

Let me first say that the quality and quantity of the food is indisputable. There wasn't anything we had that we didn't enjoy…particularly the steamed mussels in white wine and the cooked oysters. The Tiramisu that we shared for dessert was also very pleasant and made for a nice way to end the evening.

Service was friendly and attentive, the decor is simple, but "homey". And prices are reasonable. Yet there were too many faux pas all in one sitting to allow me to take the evening seriously.

Corinne doesn't drink, so I ordered a half-litre of the house red wine, rather than an apéritif, and something else with the meal. Corinne ordered a Perrier. The server brought me a half-litre of white wine, which he quickly corrected.

I ordered the Veal Scaloppine, while Corinne ordered Chicken Parmesan. Each supposedly came with different pasta and a salad. Amusingly, the veal and the chicken were identical. We each received the same penne in tomato sauce; and while one of us ordered a garden salad, we each got a Caesar salad.

We could have had the poor lad running back and forth all night correcting a medley of mistakes; but we sort of got into the flow of events. It was quite amusing, actually; and as I said, what we were given was very good.

Comparing Renato's on the usual rating scale to establishments of haute cuisine would be neither fair nor appropriate. Yet we couldn't help but kind of like this little place.