Dining: Monzi's Fine Cuisine
Monzi's food, ambience make it worth the drive to Giddings
By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
Web posted: Nov. 30, 2005
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Photos by Matt Rourke/AA-S Monzi's rack of lamb, top, with mashed potatoes and asparagus, was tender. With entrees such as maple leaf duck, bottom, chef Pasquale Ricciardi serves up elegance in Giddings. MONZI'S FINE CUISINE 55 W. Austin St., Giddings (979) 542-2201 Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays, 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Wheelchair access: Yes Wine: 30 by the glass ($4.50-$8.50), 7 by the bottle ($20-$49) Rating: 
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"We didn't want to take anybody else's niche," explained Chris Jervis, who along with her husband, Jay, opened Monzi's Fine Cuisine three years ago.
"People needed choices," Jervis said. "We have all the fast-food things you can imagine in a town of 5,000."
So the fine-dining category was just waiting to be filled. Fortunately, they had more than a small-town population to support a higher-priced eatery. The street in downtown Giddings where Monzi's is located also happens to be U.S. 290, the main thoroughfare between the state's capital and its largest city.
"People from Austin and Houston appreciate us," Jervis said. Business types returning from Houston are just 50 miles from Austin when they hit Monzi's, a perfect place to avoid rush-hour traffic at home. Regular diners also drive in from Bastrop and Sun City, the retirement community near Georgetown.
"People keep coming back," Jervis said.
The lures are food and atmosphere. Located in a lovely, 1870s building, Monzi's features tall brick walls with a large, graceful arch separating the main dining room from the area where the Sunday brunch buffet is arranged. With subdued lighting, votive candles on the tables and a pianist who played until the last table of guests (us) was wrapping up on a Saturday night, the environment is warm and inviting.
The fine cuisine is now produced by chef Pasquale Ricciardi, a native of Italy who has operated several restaurants in Central Texas and joined Monzi's in August.
His fried green tomatoes ($6.95) were wonderful, with the still-firm tomatoes covered with a crisp, light cornmeal crusting and an accent of cilantro ranch dressing.
The shrimp Diablo ($8.95) wedded shrimp with cheese and jalapeño wrapped in bacon, with a scoop of guacamole on the side. The crab cakes ($8.95) combined lump and claw meat with diced red and green bell peppers in two large, dark brown cakes with two spicy sauces on the side.
The salad (complimentary with the entrees) offered a large portion of mixed greens with baby carrots, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers tossed with a sweet raspberry vinaigrette, one of several house-made dressings.
For the main course, the lamb ($22.95) delivered four garlic-crusted double-chops, cooked medium rare as ordered. Tender and flavorful, the chops were served with sides of garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.
The Atlantic salmon ($16.95) was topped with a lemon-crawfish beurre blanc, which left several crawfish nestled on top of the grilled fillet. It was accompanied by roasted wedges of new potatoes with garlic and rosemary and wilted spinach cooked with garlic. (There's a theme here: Ricciardi likes the garlic; perhaps too much for some people, but not for me.)
The two house-made desserts brought happiness and disappointment. The crème brûlée ($4.95) was the evening's failure. The custard was covered with a thin layer of caramelized sugar that had become nearly black during the caramelizing process. The severe scorching left it with a bitter taste that couldn't be disguised by the thick dusting of confectioner's sugar.
The bread pudding ($4.95), however, was delightful. In an unusual twist on the traditional dessert, this extremely moist pudding was made with croissants and topped with mounds of English crème sauce.
Service at Monzi's was friendly, but not particularly attentive. There also were unusually long gaps between the courses, which was surprising given that only a few tables were occupied late on a Saturday.
Those shortcomings, though, were overshadowed by the quaint allure and the delightful fare of Monzi's Fine Cuisine — two good reasons to make a stop in Giddings.
drice@statesman.com; 445-3859
