One of those best-kept secret places, Piola is back and still dishing up great Italian.
by Christopher Kelly | Fort Worth Star Telegram | September 25, 2009
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Located inside a converted cottage in a residential neighborhood in Fort Worth, Piola Restaurant and Garden is one of those “best-kept secret” places. Loyal patrons seem reluctant to tell too many friends about it, for fear that – if it gets too popular – they’ll never be able to get a table. Owner/chef Bobby Albanese (his family is also behind Fort Worth stalwart Ruffino’s) opened the place in 2007. But I didn’t learn about its existence until last fall, when a friend brought me there for a bottle of wine and dinner on the lovely outdoor patio.

Soon after declaring it one of my new go-to spots, however, disaster struck: In January, a fire broke out in one of the restaurant’s storage areas, causing $700,000 in damage. Part of the roof collapsed. Many speculated that the restaurant would be forced to shutter for good.

Happy news, for Piola fans and newcomers alike: The restaurant reopened in the spring, and based on our recent visit, it hasn’t lost any of its rustic charm or its culinary flair. This might not necessarily qualify as the finest Italian food in town. But considering the elegance of the surroundings, you’ll be surprised that you’re not spending a lot more.

Uneven but ambitious: That’s the theme of the food here. The antipasti ($8.95) included a mixture of goat, fontina and Romano cheese; salami; Italian sausage; fried artichoke hearts and fried olives. It was ideal for sharing, and the cheeses were especially good. If only the fried artichokes and olives hadn’t tasted cold and flavorless, as if they had been fried hours earlier. The sausage had a marvelous kick to it, and the cheeses were fresh and flavorful.

(Bonus points for service: The dish arrived without the goat cheese, a mistake that was speedily corrected when we pointed it out to our waitress.)

More successful was the grilled bruschetta ($5.95), which featured cherry tomatoes, fava beans and onions dressed with balsamic vinegar. We puzzled slightly over why the bruschetta only covered half of the piece of grilled bread — causing one side to get soggy and the other side to remain firm — but the flavors were clear and strong. The dish was gobbled up instantly.

Curious to see how Piola fared with traditional Italian fare, we ordered the eggplant Parmigiano ($14.95). If you’re expecting the usual eggplant parm, drowning in red sauce and baked in a casserole dish, think again. Instead, you get a near-mountain of soft, not-too-bready eggplant, topped with both red and cream sauces. Personally, I thought the cheesiness of the dish — in addition to the cream sauce, the eggplant itself is layered with fontina, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses — was a bit overwhelming. But if it’s diet-busting, Italian comfort food you’re looking for, this does the job just fine.

The star of the evening proved to be the smoked chicken fettuccine ($15.95), a gorgeously presented bowl of perfectly cooked pasta, topped with pieces of chicken breast and chunks of goat cheese and bits of black truffle. The smokiness of the chicken, the tang of the goat cheese, the creaminess of the sauce and the meatiness of the mushroom resulted in the kind of dish that ranks with the best and most expensive in town.

That’s the point that we kept returning to again and again during our dinner conversation: This is a really terrific place for a date or a special event, if you want to have a relaxed, lovely evening but can’t necessarily afford to drop $100 a person. The main room is modestly sized but, — even when all the tables are occupied, as it was on our visit — never loud. The servers are friendly and accommodating. You feel as if you’re dining inside the home of a generous old friend.

We finished with the coconut panna cotta ($5.95). Again, not perfect (the flavor of coconut was awfully faint) but nonetheless hard to resist.

That Albanese and company have pulled all this off when it seemed the entire place was destroyed is all the more impressive. The only challenge now is for the locals, who will have to try to keep this better-than-ever restaurant a secret from the masses.