The name may be minimalist, but the menu is full of cross-cultural comfort and ‘classics with a twist.’

By: Antoinette Buckley

Za

147 W. Delaware Ave.

Pennington

(609) 737-4400

www.zarestaurants.com

Food: Very good

Service: Very good

Prices: Appetizers $7-$14, entrées $23-$29, desserts $9


Cuisine: Cross-cultural comfort cuisine

Vegetarian Options: Salads are mostly vegetarian; vegetarian entrée special offered every evening, and staff will point out menu dishes that can be made without meat or fish

Atmosphere: Smartly casual

Hours: Lunch: Tues.-Sun. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Dinner: Tues.-Sat. 4-9 p.m., Sun. 4-8 p.m.


Essentials: Major credit cards accepted; entrance is wheelchair accessible, bathrooms are not; BYO; reservations recommended.

Directions

   Za, a trendy Manhattan-esque name that packs intrigue and attitude into just two letters — what can this minimalist moniker mean?
   Executive Chef Mark Valenza owns the restaurant with his brother, Chaz Valenza, who runs the business side. As it turns out, Za is merely the last two letters in their family name and the only philosophy behind it is to represent their joint ownership without denoting ethnicity. Za presents an eclectic mix of comforting foods on its menu. Fresh ingredients are a guarantee here as is a menu that changes seasonally. There is no over-thinking going on at Za. In fact, there is something very direct about the restaurant. Perhaps it is the style of the ownership and service, the simple, but stylish décor, or the straightforwardness of the food.
   Trained at the Culinary Institute of America and inspired in the kitchens of Nodo, the Frenchtown Inn and Princeton’s Triumph Brewing Co., Mark Valenza strikes out on his own with Za. He refers to the cross-cultural comfort food he serves as creating "classic dishes with a twist." Indeed, his dishes have that sumptuous quality that every kind of comfort food requires. French, Italian, Middle Eastern and Asian are the most prominent springboards, from which Mr. Valenza launches.
   Most times this combination of classic with a twist is deliciously successful and every once in a while the twist becomes a crimp that doesn’t work as well as it should. Portions are always just right, however. Prices are on the high side for comfort food, but this is elegant comfort food, after all.
   The long, narrow space that the restaurant occupies is not ideal but the Valenzas, with the help of Mark’s wife, Barbara, from Red Wolf Designs, have given it a flawless facelift. Lemon yellow walls are just what the doctor ordered to open up the small quarters. The art on one wall is nothing more than framed seed packets and, remarkably, they look fabulous. Small embellishments like that fill the restaurant, making it feel fresh and fashionable. The mixing of striped and paisley fabrics on chairs and window treatments are a colorful splash of the homespun. Za thrives on using the ordinary to create something special. It’s true of the modest space that has become a charming outdoor patio. It is true of the interior décor and it is true of the food.
   Instead of the traditional bread rolls, the meal starts with muffin-like tea biscuits that are served with clarified butter and honey mixed together. I must admit, I’m stumped by this approach to bread. Mr. Valenza sets himself apart from the norm in a positive way with his Roman semolina gnocchi ($10), a dish our server, Steve, affectionately refers to as "heaven’s pillows." Handmade using semolina flour and no potato, these disks, topped with a tear of prosciutto and house-made mozzarella, sit in marinara diavolo sauce that combines the sweetness of tomato with a harmless zap of heat and the freshness of parsley. The plate is finished with a drizzling of arugula oil, intense in flavor and green in coloring. Sautéed jumbo scallops ($14) have a more bare bones preparation, but are no less stimulating to the palate. They are simply seasoned and sautéed to perfection, although the pairing with port wine-apple-cranberry chutney is a forced one.
   The harvest salad ($11) beautifully reflects autumn. Spokes of endive encircle the plate and are topped with a bunch of greens in which nuggets of fall fruit, walnuts and blue cheese nestle. The apple cider vinaigrette is a tart counterpoint to the sweet and salty flavors of the salad.
   Service is efficient and enthusiastic. Without prompting, Steve recommended all his personal favorites: Roman semolina gnocchi and sautéed scallops for appetizers followed by the sole bonne femme and fricassee lamb shank for entrées. Hence, that is exactly what we ordered. The thinking had been done for us. In fact, the thinking had been done for almost everyone in the restaurant that evening as lamb shank and sole were coming out of the kitchen in droves.
   Regardless, Steve did steer us well. The fricassee lamb shank ($27) came as a manly hunk of meat that pulled right off the bone with a fork. It embraced the flavor of its vegetable-based coulis and bonded well with the rustically smashed potatoes on the side. A vegetable combination of caramelized onion and buttery peas provided a tasty bit of interest. Baby patty-pans (a mini variety of squash) were pretty, but bitter. Sole bonne femme ($29) is cohesive and desirably lush. Sautéed mushrooms and shallots add depth to sole and imperial lump crabmeat that are first poached in a white wine-seafood stock. Cream is added at two separate intervals in the cooking process to produce a divine sauce that the fish bathes in and the accompanying saffron rice deliciously absorbs.
   Desserts are few and made in-house. Chocolate soufflé, requiring the standard upfront order, should be more sinful than it actually is. On the other hand, the pumpkin cannoli is genius. Cannoli cream breaks free of its cylindrical pastry walls. Instead, cannoli cream that is lightly flavored and colored with pumpkin is served outside of the shell in a martini glass and sprinkled with fresh berries. Two homemade cannoli shells meant for scooping are set into the cream and artistically stick out of the glass. Mark breaks cannoli convention twice: first with its configuration and second with the use of mascarpone cream instead of the traditional ricotta cheese. The result is a whimsical presentation with a delightfully smooth texture and delicately sweet finish.
   The food is not fusion. Each dish celebrates the culture from which it is derived and Mark stamps it with his own signature. When you serve this kind of New American cuisine within such comfortable walls, the result is Za and Pennington is hungry for it.