Swap Meats

Another day, another luncheon. This time it was Crinitis Parramatta. The restaurant itself is a good one. It enjoys so much popularity that it is booked out on Friday, Saturdays and Sunday almost constantly. The waiters are attentive, and the service is decent. The setting itself is pleasant, with homage paid in large surreal paintings to Mafia and Italia themed décor throughout.

I ordered a Calzone Italiana, a fold over pizza stuffed with ricotta, mushrooms, spicy salami, capsicum, and olives. When it arrived, it looked fantastic. Very rarely do I go to a restaurant in Sydney and find a Calzone looking exactly as it should. A robust puffed pizza pastry with no burnt bits, a solid crispy golden to dark brown on top, and flour padded light brown on the side. When I had dug in however it was another story. Now Crinitis seems to have a bit of a hot and cold going for it. Last few times I was here, I had a fantastic, mouth watering, pleasure inducing Crinitis Crust (olive oil, chilli, spicy sausace, and grilled eggplant/capsicum). Then I had a horrid, bland, oil smeared tuna tomato salad that was like eating lukewarm tomatoes in fishy balsamic vinegar. This Calzone was neither here nor there. I took a section from the middle first, expecting a fresh aroma of cheese, olive and salami. Instead the whole thing deflated like a soggy balloon and a torrent of ricotta spilled out.The first bite was so filled with ricotta that I could taste nothing else; to make matters worse it was barely even heated. Then I started on the side, and it was scalding piping hot, and while it was juicy and delicious, it was also devoid of ricotta. As such it was like eating two meals. I could eat the sides and have myself a nice spicy salami pizza crust. Or I could eat 90% ricotta filling with the occasional warm olive. Certainly I won’t be trying this one again.

My companion ordered a 1kg rack of ribs. Now I am not one to order cairn in an Italian restaurant, but I had a few sticks nevertheless and it was surprisingly good. The meat was moist and succulent; the sauce was sticky and rich. The flavour however lacked basting ala Meat & Wine co, or the incredibly tasty strange grease ala Ribs and Rumps. It was just pure caramelized BBQ/Plum sauce. A mouthful of the underside was evident in the lack of marinating or basting as it was tasteless. The price was the same as the more professional grill restaurants (at $37 a pop) hence I would suggest having your meat cravings elsewhere. Also to note: the sauce was so stick that it was impossible to actually use utensils or even the tissue, as vigorous use of the tissue disintegrated it and left you with bits and pieces of tissue on your hand to continue your meal.

Crinitis is a good restaurant, I still want to trying their Misto de`mere and Seafood Platter. However, its rather hot and cold, so probably sticking to traditional pasta sauce dishes and wood fired pizza would be best.