Osteria I Nonni

981 Sibley Memorial Hwy
Lilydale, MN
651-905-1081
http://www.inonnirestaurant.com/

Category: Italian

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 9
Service: 8
Ambience: 7

Recommendation: Excellent. Amazing dinner service, only heightened by a wine-tasting adventure of a flight of Valpolicella wine from the North of Italy.

I Nonni is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in the Twin Cities and usually leads the pack in the Italian category. It’s not the Mecca for cutting-edge inventive cuisine; that’s not what their mantra is. It more like “use the freshest and best quality ingredients and create well-prepared home-style dishes”. Well, we’re here to tell you that it works. It’s located on a quiet strip in Lilydale (you’re probably wondering where this is, and there’s a sadistic side of me that doesn’t want to reveal that Lilydale is essentially on the west edge of St. Paul). The interior is refined and up-scale, yet doesn’t radiate an air of haughtiness. The décor is in fact really simple – abundant use of the neutral color palette is accented by sparing use of dark woods and contrasting red/orange metal and glass lights. There’s a large bar area and an outdoor patio that serves happy hour Mon-Fri from 4-6pm (1/2 price house wines, $1 off beer, and appetizer specials). The neighboring Italian Market, Buon Giorno, is more than just an Italian market – it’s a casual alternative to I Nonni.

Our table was leaning towards the 5-course tasting menu, but I couldn’t get myself to do it (frankly, the tasting menu didn’t sound as enticing as some of the options on the a-la-carte menu). Our server was more than willing to make an exception for me and I certainly appreciated that. We started off with a bottle of the Bussola Valpolicella Amarone, an unusual wine we highly recommend…it starts off with fruity overtones but ends with a dry, bold finish. I noticed that the server was “seasoning” our wines glasses by pouring a small amount of wine in the glass and swirling it around, before transferring it to the next glass. We’d never seen this done before, but it was a nice touch. I started with the Beef Carpaccio (with Arugula, Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parmesan)…the razor thin slices of beef melted in my mouth while the accompaniments added salty, bitter, and citrus flavors. My pasta course was a simple Linguini and Clams (with Garlic, Chili and White Wine), that was simply prepared – mild flavors with a shot of spiciness that hit you once in a while.

By this time we’re done with our first bottle of wine and ask our server to make a recommendation on another bottle, a task she delegates to the restaurant manager, Tom. A personable chap, he was gracious enough to give us an overview of the types of Valpolicella wines and how dried grapes are used in the production of these wines. He recommended we try the Ca’ Rugate Valpolicella Superiore Campo Lavei (the Superiore being the 2nd rung in Valpolicella’s as opposed to Amarone, the 3rd rung). This wine was outstanding and had a smooth finish…it was adored around the table. Getting back to the food; my third course was the house specialty – Veal Shank Osso Bucco with Gremolata and Risotto Bianco. The meat was tender and nicely flavored and I liked the simple pairing of the creamy risotto (this is home cooking at its finest). And even though I’ve been enjoying my meal, I didn’t pass up the opportunity to sample the tasting menu dishes off my fellow diners, all of which were splendid. I did end up with a cheese course from the tasting menu, a Fontina Val D’Aosta d.o.p, which was strong and had bitter undertones. To pair with the cheese we had the fourth rung of the Valpolicella’s, a Ca’ Rugate Recioto, sweet, fruity, and wonderful and perfect with the honey in the cheese course. I finished my meal with a couple of bites of the Zucchini Bread with Raspberry and Honey Yogurt. It may not sound like dessert, but met with my approval – it’s not overly sweet but the raspberry and honey tones give it great depth of flavor.

Service was very good and it was nice to see the personal care they provide their customers and how seriously they take their wine (did I mention that the Italian-only wine list is spectacular).

$$$$. The 5-course degustazione menu is $50 + another $25 for the wine flight (a very reasonably priced tasting menu).