date: 1/27/09
location: minneapolis
grade:b

rinata doesn't suck. rinata doesn't stand out either. it's perfectly fine. it's al vento doing broder's pasta bar, freshly made pastas and all. though not quite as good as either. it's not as locale-focused with big flavors as al vento nor as... fresh? interesting? neighborhood-restauranty? as broder's. you could be anywhere when you're here.

everyone just had pastas, which are $10-15 for most of them. they're heavy on the shellfish (stupid allergies) and meat ones, so if you're vegetarian maybe they can adjust items. there's more vegetarian on the pizzas (around $10) and antipasti, and of course the salads. the online menu isn't up to date, alas, so i'm going to vague this up a bit, because my recall right now is at windchill factor (minus zero). (and why i felt the need to drop an obscure boomtown rats ref in here, even i have no clue. possibly to make this review of a place that's not intrinsically interesting a bit less boring....)

i had ravioli with porcini and goat cheese in a tomato broth, for $11.75. it was... ok. nothing superlative about it, nothing horrible about it (which sometimes is all i can ask for). i would've liked more mushroom earthiness and more tangy goat cheese in it, and a hit more salt. plus i got 5 or so ravioli, i would've liked maybe one or two more, but that's not quite the menu aim (they want you to go multiple small courses, a la real italian).

i think most pasta dishes ran along the same lines... they could've used more something, or a bit better something, or a bit less... something. for instance, large pieces rapini overwhelmed a dish. smaller florets would've been the right way to go. the one non-pasta dish ordered, braised lamb, was good, but needed more seasoning.

anyway, if anyone who was there sends me details about what they had, i'll add them on. i do remember the gnocchi (potato) was good, not heavy. there was also a pasta (fettucini?) with cuttlefish ink and seafood that could've used maybe a bit more seafood.

the cannoli ($5.50) was good, however, as was the light, spongy (in a good way) shiny-crust (egg-wash) bread. that was served with a pile of tapanade in fruity olive oil.

the wine list has a variety of glasses in the $5-10 range. i should've gotten something, as it's cold there. we had a window table, and by the time the meal ended, i had icy toes of death on top of my icy hands of death. i should've kept my gloves on (or put them on my feet...). they had even turned up the heat a bit after we got there, but there was still ice on the inside of the window.

service was... perky. and i am not so sure who's eating there, but boy, was the menu explanations were at really aimed at dumb people ('the pine nut tart has... pine nuts, eggs, flour, sugar, and baking ingredients...' so.. the pine nut tart has pine nuts? hmm. interesting concept. and i bet the braised meat was cooked a long time). no complaints on the water refills. weird thing... they make the people answer the phone in italian.

decor apparently has some giorgio's leftovers, including possibly the ugliest light fixtures i've seen in a restaurant (maybe even including the ones that resembled demented clown hats that i recall from my dark memory recesses, yet can't place the locale... i'm that scarred by those suckers). they resemble dried up leaves. but otherwise it's decent enough standard stuff... very dim lighting, booths, wood tables, etc. they had their wreath up still. time to take that down... three weeks ago. maybe a bit crowded with tables in winter coat season, and a tad hard to manoeuvre around in.

someone mentioned they had a higher standard for italian food, as seems easier to do at home, so when you go out, it should knock you out. does it do it here? not so much. it's a decent enough place, one of those that i would go back to (when it's warmer), but not rush back to. decent food, decent service. i wouldn't avoid it. is being unobjectionable that enough in these times? espcially in a location where another italian place failed? who knows.