Lucca

By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com

Des Moines was designed to service the obesity of Iowa agriculture. The state leads the nation in corn, soybeans and hogs, while the city maintains the world's largest water filtration system to cope with Big Ag's poisonous run-off. Restaurants here mostly cater abundance with garish décor, gargantuan portions and Styrofoam containers for leftovers. Minimalism is a hard sell. Yet Lucca daringly commits to "less is more" thinking.

For starters, it's more work. When Steve Logsdon first told me about his East Village cafè, he expected to open in August of 2005. But architect Kirk Blunck's 1880s building had been dormant for decades, and the faithful restoration took much longer. The main kitchen, a wine cellar and a cheese cave were built underground. Blunck dropped white stained ash and Plexiglas designs within the unadorned brick shell, creating a bar, a cheese area and an open kitchen. Bathroom boxes look like something by Minimalist superstar Donald Judd. A black piano parks in the dining room, not the bar. Even flowers are stunningly singular.

In its first three months, the restaurant buzzed with talk about the fixed-price menu, the cheese course and the smaller than normal portions - all foreign concepts here. People talked even more about whom they saw and what they were wearing. This is "the New 801, without the secondhand smoke" for politicians and high-profile professionals. Service has become jaded at times; we have fielded "attitude" complaints, including one from two Los Angeles food pros who noted that they work in "the world capital of attitude."

Since opening in June, the restaurant has seen both head chefs and pastry chefs come and go, from France no less. Logsdon plugged in new talent quickly. Derek Eidson moved over from Sage, where he had been Andrew Meek's sous chef, and pastry chef Hannah Dodds came along. Both followed head waiter Marcus Walsh. When the most respected kitchens in town are raided for talent, a city's dining scene has matured.

Seasonal, fixed-price, three-course dinners were offered on all our visits, though there has been talk about a la carte, four- and five-course menus. Fittingly minimalist, the best first course was salad with greens so fresh they should not be allowed out at night. The excellent organic Coyote Run Farm in Lacona supplies the restaurant with produce and flowers, plus beef, poultry and eggs. The most interesting first plate was citrus glazed chicken livers with polenta sticks. This could be a signature for Lucca, as chicken livers are synonymous with Italian (Calabrian) cafŽs in Des Moines, and these are distinctly personalized. The polenta had people begging for more. A bresaola was memorable, with prosciutto's beefy brother treated to shaved reggiano.

On earlier visits, the open kitchen was overwhelming with salmon's strong aroma. No such problem came when halibut was subbed on my last visit. Fish courses have always been strong suits for Logsdon, with simple preparations so rare in Des Moines. A braised pork shank with gnocchi, a duck ragu with rigatoni, and a prosciutto-wrapped chicken roulade were all splendid second courses.

The cheese course featured more imports than regional artisan cheeses but never anything adventurous. They were preparation for the traditional specialty of any Logsdon kitchen - pastry time: a triple chocolate bombe with candied orange and raspberry sauce; a challah bread pudding with peaches, nuts and a sweet bourbon sauce; a roasted peach on an almond cake/marsapone mousse; a pineapple cake; and a Belgian chocolate mousse with walnut caramel and espresso reduction. All used fresh, ripe fruit to augment rather than just decorate desserts. Desserts were the most inconsistent course, however, from one night to the next.

Lunches featured good fresh-baked bread, sandwiches, pasta, homemade soups and the freshest in organic salads. Overall, service was adequate by Des Moines standards but inattentive. It is the weakest link in the restaurant's petition for big-city star status.

Food Skinny

Former Lucca chef David Baruthio is now offering his services to private parties. The Alsatian who once cooked for Nelson Mandela can be leased for your next event: 210-5272. CV

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