Dining Review: Mantini's Woodfired
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Chef and owner Matt Mantini serves up grilled Alaskan Halibut with pico de gallo and grilled T-bone steak with grilled lobster tail at Mantini's new location on the South Side.
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Mantini's Woodfired, which reopened Feb. 1, still has the menu of a steakhouse with a Southern inflection. Its new location at 1209 East Carson St. is walking distance from the old space, but thanks to a totally refurbished space, and a new sense of energy and optimism, it feels like a brand new restaurant.
Shiny wood floors, exposed brick walls and two small fireplaces give the room a cozy warmth. Floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the restaurant make for fantastic people-watching and counteract the effect of relatively low ceilings. Overall, the design is sleek, handsome and welcoming -- a room where students in jeans and business people in suits would be equally comfortable.
Pleasantly absent are ubiquitous dishes, such as stuffed banana peppers and crab cakes. Even more pleasant? Read the cocktail list and take note of fresh lemon, lime and grapefruit juices. Break open a warm, herbed dinner roll and inhale its rich, yeasty aroma. Linger over the last drop of hoppy Burning River Pale Ale or fruity, sweet Magic Hat Number 9 -- still cold thanks to the chilled, inch-thick glass of the beer mugs.
Appetizers are appealing and versatile -- most are designed to be shared, and some could just as easily substitute for a main course. All would make superb bar food, a strong choice that is sure to make Mantini's a popular South Side spot after dinner as well as during.
- Hours: Lunch, Monday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner, Monday-Thursday 5:30-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5:30-11 p.m.
- Basics: This American steakhouse with a Southern twist is certain to become a South Side favorite thanks to high quality food and drink, friendly service and a beautiful new dining room.
- Recommended dishes: Jumbo Shrimp steamed in beer, Barbecued Pork Quesadilla, Cherry Wood Smoked Chicken Lettuce Wrap, Mantini House Salad, Cheddar and Bacon Smashed Potatoes, Baked Beans, Basmati Rice, N.Y. Strip Steak, Grilled Cowboy Ribeye Steak., Fresh Baked Fruit Cobbler.
- Prices: Appetizers, $2.50-$9.95; entrees, $15.95-$42.95; sides, $2.95; desserts, $6; wines by the glass start at $5, by the bottle, $19.
- Summary: Wheelchair accessible; dining room nonsmoking but central bar allows smoking; park on street or in public lots; credit cards accepted; reservations encouraged on weekends; corkage $10.
- Noise level: low to loud.
Jumbo shrimp steamed in beer ($8.95) had the wonderful, firm texture that heralds the very best, freshest shrimp. The cooking liquid enhanced their sweetness, and there was a pleasant contrast between the warmth of the shrimp and the cool, tart remoulade served alongside.
The Cherry Wood Smoked Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($8.95) were so good they made up for the slightly twee effect that "make your own" appetizers always seem to have. A stack of crisp leaves of lettuce lay ready to enrobe piles of warm, smoky shredded chicken, and sauteed onions, zucchini and yellow squash. When combined and dipped in the accompanying light, spicy sauce, the wrap was just the right combination of crisp and soft, warm and cool, smoky and sweet.
Mantini's Barbecued Pork Quesadilla ($6.95) was a staple of the previous location that continues to prove itself worthy of real food lust. Crisp tortillas were sprinkled with just enough cheddar cheese to provide structural integrity, then stuffed with moist, rich pulled pork. Though clearly designed to be shared, it's so good that one might want to consider ordering it as a main course and refusing to relinquish even one bite.
The Grilled Bruschetta ($5.95) makes smart use of roasted tomatoes, considering fresh tomatoes won't be worth featuring until at least July. But the combination of roasted tomatoes, melted mozzarella cheese and chiffonade of basil tasted more like a bread-based pizza than a bruschetta.
The few salads run the standard steakhouse gamut, but the Mantini's House Salad ($6.25) proved surprisingly satisfying. Perhaps it was the well-balanced mix of field greens and romaine and iceberg lettuces, which created a nice combination of bitter and sweet flavors with a bit of crunch, or the bright notes created by very thinly sliced red onions and a few piquant olives. Almost certainly the delicious balsamic vinaigrette that perfectly coated the lettuce played a role.
The only misstep was two chunks of tomato that tasted so cold they must have been refrigerated. Tomatoes should never be refrigerated, as temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit cause them to become mealy. The Caesar Salad, ($6.25) which also contained some of the unfortunate tomatoes, was good, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Entrees are generally straightforward. The Strip Steak (16 ounces, $32.95), T-Bone Steak (24 ounces, $32.95) and Cowboy Ribeye (32 ounces, $42.95) were all good cuts of meat, properly trimmed and properly cooked. All had nice crusts with just a hint of charcoal bite. They did tend to be a bit less warm than one might desire, but the flavor of the meat compared favorably with high-end steakhouses around the city. Depending on appetites and the rest of the order, all of the steaks were big enough to share.
Each of the steaks came garnished with a couple of crisp onion rings.
The Grilled Jumbo Gulf Shrimp ($25.95) were as delicious as their first-course counterparts, though here a decadent amount of butter was brought into play. The shrimp were coated in a subtle spice mix that pleasantly enhanced the smokiness imparted by the grill.
The Grilled Pork Chop ($24.95) had the flaws common to commercial pork -- it lacked fat and flavor -- and it had unfortunately been cooked a bit past the requested temperature of medium (which our server actually recommended).
The only real disappointment of my two meals was the dryness of the Slow Smoked Barbecue Ribs (Half Rack, $15.95, Full Rack, $23.95). A half rack of ribs looked like a gigantic portion, but many of the pieces were so tough they yielded only the tiniest bit of meat. A few were tender enough to reveal how delicious these ribs could have been -- falling off the bone with the touch of a fork, practically dissolving in the mouth into a memory of sweet, smoky richness.
Entrees are served with a choice of two sides, and the choices are varied and, for the most part, impressive.
Standouts included sauteed spinach almost spicy from the abundance of garlic, baked beans imbued with the perfect balance of salty and sweet from pork fat and what tasted like molasses. Cheddar and Bacon Smashed Potatoes were rich and fluffy. For those looking for a slightly more nutritionally balanced plate, the steamed broccoli was perfectly cooked and well seasoned.
The servings here are large, and dessert is no exception. But given how rare it is to find a restaurant that serves freshly baked fruit cobbler ($6), it's worth it to order at least one for the table.
On one visit our server told us about the cobbler as she brought our main courses. This is smart for the restaurant as well as the diner, because not everyone has the time or inclination to wait around for a dessert that needs about 10 minutes to cook, as we did on our first visit.
During those 10 minutes, my eyes understandably strayed to the open kitchen, where I noticed a server holding what appeared to be plates of food up to what appeared to be a heat lamp. This was offputting, both because a heat lamp cannot really warm up cold food, and because she was making this attempt in full view of the dining room.
In general, however, servers were friendly and competent.
There are a few interesting beers on tap, but some wine drinkers may be a little disappointed in the list. It focuses primarily on inexpensive bottles from large producers. On the plus side, it offers many options by the glass, and almost half the options are under $30 a bottle.
A poorly chosen location can permanently close a restaurant no matter how much it has to offer. Having beaten the odds, Mantini's Woodfired is back and better than ever.
First Published April 24, 2008 12:00 am
