The more things change, the more things stay irresistible at Gio Osso’s ever-evolving fusion bistro.
When Esquire magazine names your Mediterranean-fusion bistro one of America’s best new restaurants of 2013, it doesn’t necessarily light a fire under your toque to revamp the food. But Virtù chef Gio Osso isn’t one to rest on his culinary laurels – he mixes up the menu a couple times a week. Many of the changes are simple (an existing dish with different accompaniments, or prepared and presented in a new way), but occasionally encompass large menu blocks.
Along with a lively and innovative craft cocktail program, the mercurial menu lends Virtù a dynamic, surprising, slippery quality – a great incentive for repeat visits, and reviews, two years after its debut.
First order of business: drinks. While perusing the menu, sip an Amante Appassionato ($11), a delightful and colorful mix of rum, Ramazzotti, passion fruit and fresh citrus juices, Prosecco and orange essence. Whistle whetted, you’ll find a pair of stalwart dishes that have graced the menu since the beginning, including the spectacular charred octopus shared plate ($15), a generous helping of grilled octopus with lemony chickpeas and dabs of Calabrian chile butter with olive oil-kissed arugula and fennel. The unexpectedly tender rounds of singed octopus have the richness and texture of lobster and the chile butter lends a side order of heat. Another shared plate that continues to make the menu cut: smoke-tinged grilled asparagus ($14), draped with two fried duck eggs served sunny side up with bacon candy, a sprinkle of feta and foie gras hollandaise.
Some of the menu mainstays – for instance, the kale salad ($14) – appear to be in a constant, captivating state of flux. The first time I had the kale, it was accompanied by beets, butternut squash, ricotta and pecans. But on my most recent visit, it featured chocolate chèvre truffles, pistachios, berries and brown butter croutons. Seafood-loving regulars have come to expect similar protean shenanigans in Osso’s head-turning scallops dish ($30), which currently showcases four buttery and perfectly cooked rounds topped with tangy sun-dried tomato pesto and served with fried sunchokes that are as sweet as caramel, and red peppers with a scattering of manzanilla olives and a hint of balsamic reduction. Had you visited last winter, the scallops would have been tinged with white chocolate beurre blanc, bacon and onions.
Another perennial, smoked duck breast ($28), lit up my umami sensors with cherry brown butter spoon pudding, complemented nicely with bok choy. On my prior visit, it was bathed in Moroccan spices and plated with minted eggplant. It’s like taking a culinary cruise from Nice to Marrakesh.
Of course, the chef has tailored much of the current menu from whole cloth, so to speak. The new Moroccan-spiced panzanella ($13) – arugula laced with peppery croutons, bits of currants, grapes, hazelnuts, carrot ribbons and creamy goat cheese – artfully marries sweet and savory flavors with an incisor-challenging crunch.
Dessert choices abound, but the olive oil cake ($10) stands out. Nestled on a bed of mild chamomile yogurt and surrounded by fresh berries and pistachio morsels, the texture was light and delicate, but had the richness of pound cake.
The old adage, “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” rings true here. Local “hottest restaurants” come and go, but Osso’s Virtù doesn’t seem to have lost any of the culinary fission that landed it in the pages of Esquire. And it will stay hot, if Osso’s ever-tinkering hand has its way. Staffers say the restaurant has a new menu of small plate starters lined up for the summer.
DETAILS
Virtù Honest Craft
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Contact: 3701 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale, 480-946-3477, virtuscottsdale.com
Hours: Brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m. daily; dinner 5-10 p.m. daily
Highlights: Amante Appassionato ($11); charred octopus ($15); scallops ($30); olive oil cake ($10)
