We still don't dine out that often, partly because of the omicron variant, partly because I retired about 6 months ago (and still trying to adapt to the new frugal lifestyle) but Ms S did want to dine out on one of her few weekdays off so she chose Zia's Caffe. It's great that we still get that residual taste of Vino since Chef Endo moved from Vino to Zia's about 2 years ago. Of course, we had to start with a round of cocktails with the Hibiscus Calamansi Spritz ($11) for Ms S with Kohana agricole rum, hibiscus-calamansi syrup and ginger beer... Agricole rum is distilled from sugar cane juice as opposed to regular rum which is distilled from molasses giving it a distinct earthier, herbal quality - it was a nice cocktail to start.
And The Botanical ($11) for me with Empress gin, lychee liquor, guava puree and sparkling rose. Empress gin is distilled with pea flower giving it a pronounced blue color but when it hits acidic liquids, converts to a vivid lavendar. It was a great starter with a pronounced guava flavors balanced by the gin.
We then noshed on the Crispy Calamari ($14) coated with cornmeal for a crunhier texture - it also appeared to be larger calamari since some rings were about 5 inches in circumference - and they were served with both a marinara and basil aioli (which I preferred)...
Ms S then dove into her Chicken Marsala ($20) - her first choice was the Fresh Catch on Lemon Asparagus Risotto but Zia's was out of risotto and our server recommended it only on the risotto instead of pasta. As usual, the Chicken Marsala was a huge chicken breast over linguini covered with a rich sauce - like a demi-glace spiked with Marsala wine. She could only finish half of her plate (lucky me had it for lunch the next day)...
While I selected the Zia's Skyscraper ($16), a thin crust pizza topped with black olive pesto, roast beef, bacon and salami with just enough mozzarella to hold the toppings down then topped with fresh arugula and a red wine vinaigrette. It was a light but satisfying lunch which I enjoyed with a glass of Frescobaldi Tuscan red blend ($10).
Though we don't dine-in as much as we used to, we have supported Zia's Caffe with regular take-out these past 2 years and Chef Endo just posted on social media that he'll restart his Underground dinners at Zia's Caffe so we'll likely try to attend one of these dinners...
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