Cugini has been gathering some buzz in the dining circuit—for their food as well as its good-looking Italian owners. When we got there, we realized that the table reserved for us gave us a good view of the kitchen. There was a clear glass pane where the chefs could look at us, and us at them. We went for the Tuscan seafood soup with croutons, risotto with porcini mushroom sauce and Italian sausage. The soup was flavorful, but there was not enough to go with the bread. The risotto was good, but the cheese made it rather heavy-going. The combination of veal and saffron was OK, and the veal was tender, but wasn’t “wow.” The dessert selection of panna cotta, chocolate fondant, semi-alfreddo and fruits was nice—with the semi-alfreddo being our favorite. The wait staff who tended to us was thoughtful and discreet. Generally Cugini is worth a try.
