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May 21-27, 2009
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• Simple flavors done right
Boulder’s Arugula pursues a 21st-century approach to Italian
by Clay Fong
• The Dessert Diva
A local chef shares her sweet secrets
by Danette Randall
 Simple flavors done right
Boulder’s Arugula pursues a 21st-century approach to Italian
by Clay Fong
Consider if you will, the spectrum of Italian dining in Boulder County. At one end, you have your retro Louisville joints that have been serving up quintessential Italian-American platters laden with spaghetti and meatballs swimming in red sauce. These places may owe more to Chef Boyardee than they do to genuine old country cuisine, but they can also be a source of culinary comfort.
In contrast, upstarts like Boulder’s Arugula take a different tack by pursuing a thoroughly 21st-century approach. At this recently opened restaurant, the closest thing on the menu to traditional Italian-American spaghetti and meatballs is a dish of orchiette (ear-shaped) pasta adorned with a bison Bolognese sauce. Environmental sustainability is also on tap, as the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s fisheries guidelines inform the restaurant’s seafood selection. And herbivores have the opportunity to tuck into both vegetarian and vegan platters that change daily. But offering more modern and healthy choices doesn’t mean Arugula entirely eschews tradition, as old standbys like risotto and polenta are also available.
Dining companion Dorothy (who shares culinary biases similar to mine) and I bypassed Argula’s sleek interior for al fresco dining. As we examined the lunch menu, we appreciated the quality of the basket of Udi’s bread set down upon the table. The accompanying extra virgin olive oil also delighted with it’s clean yet fruity taste. This theme of simple flavors done right extended to Dorothy’s $4 house salad, a well-balanced combination of greens, balsamic vinaigrette and tomato. The dressing’s subtle tartness helped highlight the fresh and crisp qualities of the lettuce, while the tomato was about as good as it gets this time of year.
Our other starter was an extraordinary plate of $7 Hazel Dell organic mushrooms with gorgonzola and parsley. These fungi surprised with rich taste and hefty texture resembling that of meat. In lesser hands, the pungent cheese could have overwhelmed the mushrooms; here it added a sublime creaminess to the dish. One hopes that this starter might eventually wind up as the sauce in what would be a superlative pasta dish.
Speaking of pasta, Dorothy’s entrée consisted of an $8.50 half portion of gnocchi in vodka sauce with wild shrimp. The vodka sauce was more or less what you’d expect, a decent blend of tomatoes with the acidity cut by a splash of cream. While the shrimp were of respectable size, Dorothy and I both agreed we’ve had better. On the plus side, this potato-based pasta possessed a pleasingly airy texture as opposed to versions with a leaden, Play-Dohesque quality.
Craving more locally produced fare, I ordered the $15 Long Farm pork tenderloin sided with white beans mixed with bits of pancetta, bacon’s Italian cousin. The beans were tender without being mushy, but unfortunately the dominant flavor was the pancetta’s overwhelming saltiness. The tenderloin itself tended towards bland, although its firm, steak-like consistency and slightly creamy taste still beats the insipid pork too often found in supermarkets.
While Arugula represents the modern trend towards more sustainable fare in Italian dining, it also has the feel of a restaurant that has yet to realize its full potential. If all of its offerings rose to the level of the mushroom appetizer, there would be little need for improvement. But with choices like the tenderloin, there’s still room for culinary growth.
Photo: Charles Loughlin
Clay’s obscurity corner
Chef Boiardi
Unlike that fictional hussy Betty Crocker, Chef Boyardee was a real person who did much to popularize Italian-American cooking. An immigrant who passed through Ellis Island at 16, his given name was Ettore Boiardi. He quickly gained a reputation as a master chef, cooking at New York’s Plaza Hotel and overseeing the catering for Woodrow Wilson’s marriage. He then started a restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, where customers often asked for some of his spaghetti sauce to take home. Eventually, he sold his pasta products nationally, and he named his brand Chef Boyardee to facilitate the proper pronunciation of his surname.
Arugula Bar e Ristorante
2785 Iris Ave.
Boulder, 303-443-5100
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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