Tuscan Twins (Hartford Courant 8/1/2004)

By Michael Gannon

"I figured it would be good," said a friend, for perhaps the third or fourth time, "but I had no idea it would be this good."

For the third or fourth time, I agreed. I've heard little buzz about this place—in a region dripping with marinara and aioli, it's hard for an Italian restaurant to sneak its way into the hearts of area gourmands. Tuscan Twins is the exception, and should be on its way to becoming a local culinary darling. It's hard to imagine how someone with a love of food could leave here unimpressed.

Recipes range from familiar to adventurous. Depending on your mood, you can have a simple pasta Bolognese or puttanesca, or you can order a fine tuna crusted in pine nuts, arranged over chive mashed potatoes and draped in a coconut plum sauce. The rarity is that every dish along this spectrum is wildly successful, leaving you full of flavor as well as full.

My recommendations are many: the understated "toasts," crisp squares of bread topped with a sweet fig relish and thin, tender slices of prosciutto; the crab cakes Italiano, tightly packed rounds of fragrant crabmeat over lightly dressed greens and ribbons of lemon Dijon aioli; and my favorite of all, the exquisite risotto, simmered in a smoked tomato broth to an exceptionally creamy texture and studded with sharp slices of chorizo and sweet morsels of lobste

Also excellent was the Tuscan sirloin, a dark, deliriously juicy steak sprinkled with gorgonzola and roasted nuts. I only wished its accompaniments could have been more interesting. Dull side dishes are an unfortunate pattern here - mashed potatoes show up in nearly half the dishes, and vegetables lack personality and masterful preparation. The success of the swordfish picatta, for example, was somewhat stunted by the bed of blah beneath it. I'd like to see perfect accompaniments to these lively dishes before Tuscan Twins can be crowned the king.

In the meantime, though, at least it's in line for the throne. Fast, friendly servers led us through course after remarkable course, ending with great coffee and desserts. Best of all, if you decide to skip dessert - though their chocolate Chambord crème brûlée and various sorbets should not be missed - you can always head up a short flight of stairs to Red, the Moroccan-influenced cocktail lounge that's owned by the proprietors of Tuscan Twins.

It's an abrupt change. Tuscan Twins has an upscale, pleasant décor that's easy on the eyes, but forgettable. Red is a complete transformation, a richly colored cave teeming with tapestries, plush pillows and a wide assortment of hookahs. The benches aren't particularly comfortable, and the lounge seems far from handicapped accessible, but Red scores high with a stylish scene more common in larger cities. You can order food from the downstairs kitchen, though the menu is pared down to appetizers and paninis, and their special martinis are fabulous. Vodka is infused in house—with Spanish olives, red apple, raspberry—and they even make a jalapeno-infused tequila with heat a step away from hydrochloric acid.

Red is a great stop before or after dinner, making Tuscan Twins a way to have a full night out without leaving the building. And its Bloomfield location, a short drive from the city or the suburbs, makes the visit convenient as well as delicious. Visit this restaurant soon—you had no idea it would be this good.

Tuscan Twins (Hartford Advocate 3/20/2003)

By Steve & Lisa Alcazari

We called ahead to make reservations at Tuscan Twins in Bloomfield, but we were told there was no need to reserve advance seating for parties of four or fewer. This may be about to change. The high-ceilinged main dining room and smaller spaces near the front and back of the restaurant were nearly filled when we dropped in, somewhat late on a Saturday night.

We were led past the large vat of extra virgin olive oil near the entrance to a small table in the corner of the main dining room.

The atmosphere at Tuscan Twins is characterized by the multitude of windows in the restaurant. Large whole panes of glass provide a glimpse outside, and big windows look from the dining area onto the closed-off porch in the front, which will make for nice open-air dining when the weather warms up.

Never really following through on the wisdom of matching up what one plans to eat with what one plans to drink, Lisa and I ordered glasses of the house Cabernet while we scoped out the menu.

We were leaning toward the calamari fritti to start, but our waitress suggested we try the lemon caper calamari instead, for a change from the ubiquitous fried squid with marinara sauce. This was a good tip. We also settled on a mesclun salad with artichoke hearts.

The calamari was tart and tasty, not defined by the fried exterior, but seasoned in the lemony caper sauce, with scallions. This was way more yang than yin. The calamaris looked slight on the plate, but this is true of many dishes at Tuscan Twins. The food is presented on enormous dishes that dwarf the contents, making it look like a small helping when in fact it's just a huge vessel.

Our salad was appealingly chunky, with big pieces of dark cucumber, celery, roasted red peppers, meaty pieces of artichoke hearts and some out-of-season tomatoes. With all of the fruits and vegetables we now can purchase out of seasonal context from the southern hemisphere, it's surprising that one can still only get a good tomato during those few weeks at the end of summer. But I was happy to be eating a salad that didn't have some pungent crumbles of cheese in it for a change.

From there, we moved on to bigger things on bigger plates. Lisa ordered the seafood linguine and I jumped at the chance to sample the risotto prego. Risotto is the famously creamy dish made with starchy arborio rice. It's such an ordeal to make—with rigid strictures about the stirring technique, type of pot and elusive amounts of liquid to add—it's a perfect dish to let someone else make for you.

The risotto prego came crowned with three spears of grilled asparagus, a classic accompaniment to the dish. Folded in with the smooth rice were cubes of grilled chicken, chopped scallion and diced pieces of bright orange and red bell pepper. Cooks usually aim for a delicate effect with risotto, being careful not to start with too strong flavors that will only become more pronounced as the liquid is cooked down. The risotto at Tuscan Twins had the delicate flavor, even if the texture may have been complicated by all the other ingredients.

A few flavors jumped out from Lisa's seafood linguine: rosemary and hot pepper. I don't usually expect rosemary to be the dominant herb used for shellfish, though it is one of the most popular Italian herbs, after parsley. The linguine was nice and al dente, with a light tomato sauce and a generous mix of scallops, shrimp and mussels. The heat came as a pleasant surprise to me, but those not in love with hot peppers might feel otherwise.

As the remaining tables emptied and the restaurant cleared out, we sat pondering the eternal question—room for dessert? Since the huge plates had made our meals look meager, we lied to our stomachs and said yes. We split an order of pear mousse, which turned out to be more of a light, layered bitter chocolate treat with sponge-cake than the molded dish we expected. There was some too-strong sauce squirted around the plate, but I avoided it after testing it with a fingertip. To add the finishing touch, I had a double-espresso, which was served in a clear glass that proudly showed just how thick and opaque the strong brew was.

The total for the meal came to $73.