Review: Mazara in Clayton
In Italy, the fishing village Mazara sits at the mouth of the Mazaro river in southwestern Sicily. In Clayton, the restaurant Mazara (ma-ZAR-a) sits on Forsyth Boulevard in a space formerly occupied by several other restaurants. What connects the two is simple, rustic cooking and an emphasis on family. Owners Joe and Mindy Sciales came from the wholesale food business before opening the restaurant they named for his ancestral city. Most everyone, from the pastry chef to the bartender, is related by either blood or marriage; We Are Family should be Mazara’s theme song.
With just enough twists to keep things interesting, the Scialeses have built a concise menu that is both varied and affordable. They’ve also transformed the long, narrow space – former home to India’s Rasoi and Best Chinese – into a relaxed, smoke-free dining room and bar bathed in warm, neutral tones. Like the atmosphere, the food is a touch rustic, a touch sophisticated. The light and refreshing carpaccio di pesci appetizer is a good example of those little twists. Most diners are familiar with carpaccio made with tenderloin, and Mazara certainly can satisfy that beefy desire. But break from tradition with this version from the sea: paper-thin slices of top-grade raw ahi tuna topped with a little mound of thinly sliced cucumber lightly dressed in vinegar, olive oil and salt for a delicious, cold, crunchy contrast to the melt-in-your-mouth tuna. Simple yet exquisite.
Same was true for the funghi ripieni, veal-stuffed roasted cremini mushroom caps with a creamy, rich, tangy Mornay sauce. The two pastas we sampled followed the same quiet elegance of balancing light flavors, this time with olive oil-based sauces. The farfalle con pollo, with its bite-sized pieces of roasted chicken, was a delightful late-summer dish combining prosciutto, peas, spinach and tomatoes – the only distraction being that it needed a bit more olive oil to keep the mélange moist. Spaghetti al gambretti hit all the right tones with pan-sautéed shrimp in a rough pesto sauce with a bit of roasted pine nuts (read “not puréed to death in a blender”) and topped with sun-dried tomatoes.
The filleto di manzo alla Toscana, 8 ounces of beef tenderloin grilled and glazed with a rich Chianti sauce, was further enhanced by a layer of Gorgonzola and a topping of crispy, frizzled onion strings, making for a perfect combination of sweet-pungent-salty. The underlying mushroom risotto with roasted fennel only added to the dish’s earthy appeal. We ordered the filetto di maiale, a simply seasoned roasted pork tenderloin accompanied by rosemary polenta, cannellini beans and braised greens, medium-rare because, really, that old rule about cooking pork until it’s no longer pink is as outdated as my mother’s avocado-green electric skillet. Next time, however, we’ll order it medium because, unlike the beef, the medium-rare was closer to rare. While the beans were a bit too sharp-tasting, we could have eaten a big bowl of the addictive buttery, brothy, herby polenta.
Keeping it in the family, daughter Nina Bastow makes all of Mazara’s desserts. Carrot cake can be overly spiced or an insipid affair with overly sweetened frosting. Bastow’s interpretation is lighter, using layers of mascarpone and a light hand with spices. Her citrus-polenta cake was deliciously grainy – as it should be – citrusy and tart. The trio of gelatos was flavorful but suffered a bit from ice crystals. Dessert forks and spoons are served ice cold, a nice touch. Mazara’s compact, affordable wine list covers the bases, but would be improved with more offerings by the glass, especially in the Italian red and white categories.
In a city chock-full of Italian restaurants, both fancy and plain, where an increasing number of restaurants have million-dollar-plus interiors, and where diners often pay more attention to celebrity chefs than the restaurant itself, unassuming Mazara, dishing out its straightforward fare, is a welcome addition.
