Zavino (University City)

Zavino
3200 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19104 215.823.6897 | http://www.zavinohospitalitygroup.com/

Zavino bills itself as a wine and pizza bar and does both reasonably well. I stopped in for a weekend brunch at this newest location in University City.  Zavino also has a restaurant in Midtown Village at 112 S 13th St Philadelphia, PA 19107. This particular edition of Zavino had an almost all glass exterior which made for some terrific indoor natural lighting.  It must cost a small fortune to heat/cool however, but I digress.

Outside the entrance is a large patio area for plenty of al fresco dining. I chose to sit indoors however as it was already getting a bit muggy on this humid summer day.

RICOTTA OF THE DAY $9 rosemary flatbread. Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep  milk whey left over from the production of cheese.  Ricotta is a favorite component of many Italian desserts, such as cheesecakes and cannoli. This ricottta has been whipped to a fluffy consistency and served with lime and lemon infused olive oil for a very nice combination of flatbread and ricotta.

If nothing else, one must absolutely try the fresh squeezed orange juice offered for brunch. It is made maybe minutes before you enjoy it.  Refreshing and delightful.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE $7 california goats milk,semi-soft, tart and tangy.  It is served with a dijon mustard, strawberry jam, and pickled vegetables that have been pickled in house. While I am no cheese expert, I think they may have messed up the cheese that was served because that looks like a bleu cheese, smelled and tasted like one. Below is a picture of standard california goats cheese for comparison.

THE STACHE $16 whole wheat crust, pistachio pesto, mozzarella, parmesan, lemon vinaigrette, baby arugula. It was ok.  Personally, I thought it needed some more substance (aka meat) but that is personal preference.  It also came out a tad charred for my tastes, but I read on their website: "we’d never, ever, send you a burnt pie. We’re working with 850+ degrees to assure our oven keeps your crusts crunchy and your cheese melted. During this process, the outer rim of the pizza tends to char." While this may be the case, it seems even the middle of my pizza was charred as well.

Of Note

Glass shelves feature clean cheeses and fresh ingredients lit with beautiful natural lighting.

The bar and wine selection is impressive.

The infamous pizza oven of Zavinos crafting the house made pies everyone is so crazy about.

Table settings.

Caveat emptor:

• I found it odd that during brunch (and for any time of day) there was no coffee on the menu. 
• Our server while very nice, checked on us every 2 minutes asking if she could "take anything." It's almost as if she was trying to get out of there when the restaurant was practically empty. Maybe her shift was almost over, we will never know. 

Update: 10/11/14

POLPETTINI $16.  And worth every penny.  Ricotta stuffed veal meatballs, mozzarella, crushed tomato, basil, shaved provolone.  Delicious.  I ate the whole thing myself.