Zia's

I had to go see what all the fuss was about with Zia's on the docks, in Toledo. I ventured-in on a recent Friday night for dinner. 

One thing I loved was the ambiance of the place. It was decorated in a rustic style; shabby chic meets old world Italy. It was cozy and inviting. 

Looking over the menu, I saw Zia's wasn't cheap. Most dishes were priced around $20. Meat entrees were closer to $30. With drinks and starters, you better figure $30+ per person. 

For the table, we received Italian bread and an olive butter made with Kalamata. 

The waitress was friendly. She explained menu items and offered some suggestions. 

I ordered the spaghetti aglio e olio. It looked amazing when it arrived, full of color, served in a pretty bowl. But Kalamata olives are too strong for a dish like this; they overpower everything else. If it's done well, with good ingredients like quality oil and fresh basil, spahetti aglio e olio is a guilty pleasure. But, while there were some good ingredients in this version, like freshly grated parmesan and al dente pasta, the dish just wasn't balanced. The garlic and oil should be the stars of the show, not the olives. I ordered the dish with chicken. It had a nice grilled flavor, but the portion was a few ounces at best. I would've liked to have seen a little more meat since it was a $4 add-on. 

My dinner guest ordered the melanzane parmigiana--eggplant parmesan. It was a generous-sized helping, and it came plated beautifully, but the eggplant was a tough slab, difficult to cut through. The sauce was passable but nothing over the top. 

We ordered a side of Italian sausage. It tasted old and dry. It had none of the familiar flavors of fennel and Italian herbs. 

Both meals came with choice of soup or salad. We ordered salads with house vinaigrette. Nothing flashy there; head lettuce, tomatoes, and a few garbanzos. The dressing was good. A lot of tang, but not much else. 

There were two things I tasted at Zias that I really liked. One was the appetizer, the calamari fritti. It was a good-sized portion, it was lightly breaded, and it was tender--some of the most tender I've ever had. The calamari came with a side of marina that was well-suited. 

The other item that I really liked was the tiramisu. It was pleasantly well-balanced. A lot of times tiramisu is heavy on the rum, heavy on the lady fingers, or just plain too heavy--each bite sinks to your stomach like a stone--dense and way too rich. But this dessert was lighter, almost fluffy. The ratio between pillowy-bite and cookie-crunch was spot-on. The serving size is large. Two can easily share it.  

When I hear so many people bragging about the food of any restaurant, I always give it a fair chance. After years of eating all over the country, I realize that sometimes people get used to food prepared in a way they're accustomed to, and that's how they like it. Up in Detroit, where I grew up, you'll find some of the best authentic, hand-made, Italian joints in a 100-mile radius, but there will still be an hour wait at Olive Garden. So, to each, his own. 

But I always come back to this: how is it that I can go anywhere and get something to eat and know whether it's no good, or it's amazing? Because I know good food and I can always count on my tastebuds. 

I'd like to give Zia's another shot this summer, when I can sit on the patio with a glass of wine and enjoy that beautiful view of the river. And maybe next time, I'll skip the pasta and go straight for dessert.