Tazzina travels from Glendale to Forest Hills

By Suzanne Parker

Is history repeating itself? About 10 years ago, there was a much beloved Italian restaurant in an obscure part of Glendale. After building a devoted following, the owner decided that he had outgrown his petite digs, and relocated to Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills. Although the new site was not much more elegant than the original, the owner seemed to believe that he was now operating an upscale restaurant, and raised his prices accordingly. The quality of the food also suffered, and the restaurant closed after little more than a year.

The compact Glendale site vacated by the aforementioned resto was taken over by Tazzina. This was the venture of Ridgewood native Jason Zukas, whose claim to fame was winning a $10,000 prize on the Food Network’s show “Chopped.” Tazzina enjoyed the same hidden gem cachet of that out of the way location. Mr. Zukas also felt the lure of Forest Hills.

Tazzina has reopened in the former location of the long lived Tutto Bene, and the subsequently short lived Piccola Italia. The space is attractively decorated, but noisy, and with small, unclothed tables, packed close together.

The wine list ranges from affordable to splurge. Many are rated “DOC Reserve.” We wondered if that was a new wine appellation that had slipped by us. Turns out that “DOC” is one of the investors, nicknamed “Doc” for his dental profession.

Keeping in mind that this is a new location, still working out some of the kinks, we found that they hit both highs and lows.

The truffled gnocchi, one of Mr. Zukas’ signature dishes was appealingly rich, and the gnocchi well executed. But the redolence of truffles in the otherwise tasty mushroom sauce was noticeably absent. The grilled octopus was tender and flavorful. The big disappointment was the roasted bone marrow. The portion was enormous, but fatally flawed. The larger bones were not cooked through, so that the interior fat remained opaque and solid—in other words raw. The inconsistent size of the bones was responsible for the problem. To Tazzina’s credit, when this was pointed out, the marrow was removed from the bill. Likewise, our choice of pasta was another blooper. Rigatoni was served so undercooked that it was a chore to chew. It was also removed from the final bill.

Boneless short rib with polenta was pure delight. The meat melted in the mouth in a beefy sauce that seemed to hold a hint of smoke. It sat atop a creamy mound of pecorino polenta, a perfect complement to the beef. Fluke Francese was equally excellent. Sweet fleshed, buttery, wonderfulness.

Sadly, Veal Spiedini was tough and dry. Chicken Parmesan was abundant but too monotonous to eat without some sort of side. The other dishes came with some sort of veg and or starch. Why was the chicken parm such a wallflower?

Our dessert was an epiphany. Could this be the Queens cronut? It was a doughnut filled with cannoli filling and topped with vanilla gelato? Our only regret was agreeing to share it.

The Bottom Line

Tazzina, although off to a slightly bumpy start, shows much promise. What was good here was really good, and what wasn’t, was subtracted from our bill. Tazzina has some stiff competition on Metropolitan Avenue. Whether Forest Hills can support another Italian restaurant remains to be seen. Let’s hope it’s not déjà vu all over again.

Suzanne Parker is the TimesLedger’s restaurant critic and author of “Eating Like Queens: A Guide to Ethnic Dining in America’s Melting Pot, Queens, N.Y.” She can be reached by e-mail at qnsfo‌odie@‌aol.com.

Tazzina

102-15 Metropolitan Ave,

Forest Hills

(718) 374-3890

www.tazzi‌nany.com

Price Range: Appetizers: $12-$19, Entrees: $20-$40

Cuisine: New American Italian

Setting: Small space tastefully decorated.

Service: Friendly, attentive wait service

Hours: Dinner from 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday

Reservations: Optional

Alcohol: Full bar