Back on Track

Communities that are still trying to get their culinary bearings are perfect candidates for Italian trattorias. After all, this sort of food is generally unpretentious and undemanding. With soft, cheese-laden pastas and squishy desserts, it’s also perfect comfort food.

So, when the Italian Cafe opened its doors in the old Bank of Italy building on Main Street in Ventura eight months ago, it was cause for rejoicing. The menu posted in the window promised some of the real thing: fresh, light tomato sauces, dishes with prosciutto and pancetta, even the occasional anchovy.

But there were disappointments, including overcooked and over-sauced pastas, and timid pestos--more like Italian food at a church social than authentic bistro fare.

Then, three months ago, the cafe abruptly changed ownership. A month or so later, it changed its chef and its name and became Banco d’Italia. Edoardo Bucci is the new owner, manager and chef, ably assisted in the kitchen by Rita Pisani, former owner and chef of longtime Ventura restaurant Amelio’s.

At lunch or dinner, expect to be served a basket of fragrant focaccia--thin, dense and crusty--or some yeasty dinner rolls. Salads run from modest to elaborate. My favorite was the house salad, the Condiglione dell’ Ortolano ($4.75), which I had at lunch one day. This was a plate of extraordinarily fresh greens and chopped tomato served with toasted pine nuts and salty Mediterranean olives, all lightly dressed in a gorgonzola vinaigrette.

Unfortunately, the Caesar, served at dinner a few nights later, was a disappointment. The greens were fresh but overdressed, there was too much waxy Parmesan and I couldn’t turn up a single anchovy.

The pizza dough served at lunch and dinner was moderately thin and crisp, yet yeasty. The very untraditional Francese ($7.95) was a great pie, with chopped garlic, leeks, tomato and brie--the cheese dotted discreetly rather than slathered on.

Pasta dishes are of the mix-and-match variety; patrons can select from a dozen sauces that can be paired with one of about a dozen pastas. The quality was as varied as the choices.

Inconsistency was also the general rule with the entrees. The New York steak ($15) arrived cooked to order and quite flavorful, while the chicken piccata ($13.50), served at the same meal, was thick, dried out and greasy, with too little lemon and too few capers.

But the Melanzana in Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmigiana, $9.25) was excellent, the vegetable still firm and a light, fresh-tasting marinara sauce.

Though service at lunch was efficient and pleasant, dinner was oddly chaotic--and there were only a handful of other patrons in the restaurant.

Of course, one great big dessert can make up for a multitude of little sins. The restaurant serves the full complement of gooey, sweet cheesecakes and layer cakes, and there is a dazzling variety of ice creams. But the sweet that really stands out is the tiramisu, not too sweet and served not as the showy, overproduced dessert it has become elsewhere, but as the humble yet delicious concoction of ladyfingers, mascarpone cheese, sponge cake and powdered chocolate it should be.

Now, that’s Italian.

BE THERE

Banco d’Italia, 394 E. Main St., Ventura. (805) 643-7424. Open daily, 11:30 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. Beer and wine only. Street parking. MasterCard and Visa. Dinner for two, $24-$40.