In 2002 founder Sam Fox opened the original North Italia restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. Since then, the Italianesque eatery has expanded to locations throughout the United States. Late last month, the first Utah location of North Italia opened in Riverton and I have to confess: I was impressed by the quality of the food, service and the ambiance.
The North Italia Riverton restaurant is a bustling, sprawling space occupying 8,416 square feet. The dining space comfortably seats 138 guests inside with a 18-person bar top and an additional 76 guests outside on its fully covered patio.
Both the interior and exterior walls of North Italia are donned with locally commissioned artwork that embraces the outdoors and the treasured landscapes that surround the Riverton community while also celebrating North Italia’s Italian heritage.
There are also playful nods to Salt Lake City being a past and future host of the Olympic Games featured in some art pieces, including a dining room mural that showcases four women who are part of an Italian bobsleigh team.
At the helm of North Italia Riverton’s culinary and operations teams are Regional Manager Meg Holden, Regional Chef Jordan Herigstad, Executive Chef Joe Genovese, and General Manager Colin Corbello. Joining them – at the time of the restaurant’s opening – is a staff of over over 100, according to the manager we spoke to. It takes a village.
Seared Sea Scallops
The menu at North Italia is vast, with a wide assortment of pizzas, pastas, strombolis, sandwiches, salads, small plates, and entrees such as pork Milanese, chicken parmesan, roasted salmon with caramelized Romanesco, crushed meatball ragu, herb-roasted chicken called strozzapreti, seared sea scallops, braised short rib Marsala, and more.
While perusing the menu and making choices, you might want to sip a signature cocktail, beer, or glass of wine from the bar. Italian-themed cocktails include a Sicilian Margarita ($16), Turino Old Fashioned ($16.50), Julietta ($15.5), Marco Polo ($16), and my favorite: La Dolce Vita ($16) made with Casamigos Blanco Tequila, Ramazzotti Rosato Aperitivo and passion fruit. Cin cin!
Wild Shrimp Scampi
“Small Plates” at North Italia are not particularly small, making them great starters to share. They run the gamut from beef carpaccio, white truffle garlic bread, and calamari fritti to cacio e pepe arancini, prosciutto bruschetta, heirloom tomato with burrata, crispy eggplant parmesan, and beyond. We thought the wild shrimp scampi ($18) was excellent: a quintet of tender, plump shrimp bathed scampi-style in a scrumptious herb butter sauce with blistered tomato, Grana Padano cheese, garlic confit, charred lemon, and rustic grilled bread sprinkled with fresh parsley on the side. A nice touch was serving the scampi in the pan in which it was cooked.
Arugula & Avocado Salad w/Salmon
Salads served at North Italia include a Little Gem Caesar ($15.50), Tuscan Kale Salad ($15.50), Seasonal Vegetable Salad ($16.50), and a Simple Salad ($10) of farm greens, heirloom cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, and Gorgonzola vinaigrette. A not-so-simple salad is the Italian Farm Salad ($17) which includes everything but the kitchen sink: salami, speck, Provolone, pepperoncini, olives, heirloom cherry tomato, cucumber, pickled red onion, roasted pepper, herb breadcrumb, and oregano vinaigrette. My wife enjoyed a simple but satisfying Arugula & Avocado Salad ($15) with shaved fennel, lemon, Grana Padano, and extra virgin olive oil, plus a $13 add-on of salmon. Adding chicken to a salad is an additional $7.
Pappardelle Bolognese
There are always at least 10 pasta dishes on the North Italia menu, ranging from tortelloni al pomodoro ($21), trottole chicken pesto ($22.50), and spicy rigatoni with vodka sauce ($22.50) to ricotta cavatelli ($26), lumache alla norcina ($23), and lasagna bianca al forno ($24). All of the pasta is freshly made in-house, as was evident from the superb texture and taste of the al dente pappardelle Bolognese ($23.50) that I enjoyed. That perfect pappardelle is bathed in a hearty meat sauce (beef, pork & veal) with Grana Padano, wild oregano, and extra virgin olive oil. It’s a house specialty and well worth the attention of pasta lovers.
Grilled Branzino
In addition to the entrees mentioned above, there is a Tuscan half chicken ($26) with sweet corn, broccolini, piquillo pepper, roasted cipollini, white polenta, and roasted chicken jus, as well as grilled branzino ($33) with roasted fennel, broccolini, sugar snap peas, rainbow cauliflower, fingerling potatoes, cipollini, and lemon caper butter.
Banana Coffee Cake
Dessert temptations at North Italia include Italian donuts called bombolini ($12), citrus olive oil cake ($12), gelato & sorbetto ($7), affogato ($11), tiramisu ($12), seasonal butter cake ($12), and dark chocolate budino ($12). During Sunday brunch my wife and I shared a delicious dessert: banana coffee cake ($13) with dark rum butterscotch, caramelized banana and crème fraîche. It’s a shame that the banana coffee cake is only on the brunch menu and not available – as far as I know – for regular lunch or dinner. It’s SO scrumptious!
Located in Riverton’s Mountain View Village, North Italia is a vibrant new dining destination for folks in the South Valley looking for dependable Italian fare – Little Italy style- at an eatery with delectable decor and standout service. Mangiamo!
Photos by Ted Scheffler & Courtesy North Italia
Culinary quote of the week: “A tavola non si invecchia.” (“At the table, one does not grow old.”) – Italian Proverb
