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    Rave Review of Za in today’s Trenton Times: http://edit.zarestaurant.dropzite.com/page/7235-Reviews

  • ‘Cross-cultural comfort cuisine’ is menu theme at Za in Pennington
    Friday, March 05, 2010
    By Susan Sprague Yeske
    SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
    By Susan Sprague Yeske

    When chef Mark Valenza launched Za Restaurant four years ago, it was his dream come true. After years of working for and with restaurants owned by other people, he was able to create a menu that reflected his personal vision of what food should be.

    Fast-forward to today, when much of the restaurant industry is struggling to get ahead and consumers are reluctant to spend a lot of money when they go out to dinner.

    “We’re doing very well,” says Valenza, adding, “there’s a lot of people who really like and support us.”

    In addition to loyal customers, some of whom come in once or twice each week, “we get new customers each week, including more young people, Valenza says”

    Customers have responded well to Za’s expansive lunch/brunch menu, which ranges from eggs Benedict to pasta to his trademarked “Zaanwiches” made of naan bread. Some are regular customers at dinner because he always has a 2-pound lobster on the menu, he says, which serves a specific niche of customers. To satisfy those looking for a value-priced meal at an upscale restaurant, he serves a $19 chateaubriand for one on Sunday nights.

    A firm believer in the value of serving local products, Valenza continues his practice of using as much local food as possible. But over four years, much has changed at Za, including his movement away from New American cuisine.

    “I have refined our cuisine to the level where it’s distinguished from New American,” he says. He calls his dishes “cross-cultural comfort cuisine,” and says, “the comfort food level of the food has more to do with identifiability. It is a well-defined plate; foods are rarely stacked.”

    An example of his cross-cultural approach is his coconut snow scallops, $25, which are plump day-boat scallops, perfectly seared and warmed all the way through. They become a cross-cultural dish with the combination of his spicy-sweet coconut sauce — made with coconut cream and shaved coconut — and his mildly spicy and Mexican pico de gallo. Paired with lightly dressed mezza greens from Blue Moon Acres in nearby Hopewell Township, the well-defined plate reaches new heights of satisfaction.

    From the appetizer menu, an order of Roman semolina gnocchi, $11, is just about perfect. The light semolina rounds are topped with broiled Montrachet goat cheese and finished with a Parmesan walnut sauce.

    A risotto entrée, $18, (add $4 for chicken and $8 for shrimp) is creamy and hearty, served with sautéed cremini mushrooms, diced tomato and spinach, then topped with shavings of Grana Padano cheese and finished with a drizzle of arugula oil.

    Honey and rosemary add flavor to Valenza’s rack of lamb, $27 for four New Zealand chops cooked to a perfect medium rare and finished with a Dijon honey sauce. Sharing the plate were lightly crunchy and flavorful haricots verts and smashed potatoes flavored with goat cheese.

    When the server takes the dinner order he asks if the diners want to try the chocolate soufflé, $12, for dessert, which takes 20 minutes to bake. That way it will be ready when the main course is finished.

    Light but rich and piping hot from the oven, this dessert is big enough to share, except perhaps for the chocolate devotee who will want to devour every morsel of moist confection.

    Key lime pie, $7 a slice, is among a select number of dishes made by the newest member of the Za chef staff. Fans of the former Andiamo in Lambertville will remember the pie as a creation of chef Jean Giunta. Bright and tangy, it is served with freshly whipped cream and a drizzle of strawberry sauce.

    Za has an extensive non-alcoholic beverage menu including many fresh-brewed coffees and teas. A cup of tangerine-flavored white tea, $3, was soothing and satisfying.

    Za remains a dream come true for Valenza, who is happy that he can “go to work every morning and do my food my way.”

    “Opening my own restaurant was absolutely the right place for me,” he says, and, having tasted what Za has evolved into, we have to agree.