Steelé/Boca Raton
October 8, 2004
By John Tanasychuk
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Remember Prezzo? The unfortunately short-lived chain of hip Italian restaurants that operated from Boca Raton to Kendall? Overexpansion was Prezzo's apparent downfall, and that's where Rufino Rengifo comes in.Rengifo was chef at several Prezzo locations including Kendall and Aventura. When business went bad, Rengifo saw a way to hold on. Rengifo had come to the attention of the Merchants Group, a Manhattan-based restaurant and catering chain, when he won the Delray Beach Garlic Festival recipe contest with his Garlic Wellington dessert.
The Merchants Group put up the money and last February Rengifo reopened in Boca as Steelé. Fans of Prezzo will be happy to know that many favorites are still on the Steelé menu, drawing diners from south Miami-Dade up the turnpike.
Physically, the restaurant hasn't changed much either. It's a big space with intimate earth-tone dining areas that could be serving much more expensive fare. Almost every entree is less than $20. Portions are generous. The Sunset Menu, available all evening on Sundays, is an even better bargain for a complete meal. Service is also good.
It's an Italian restaurant, one that also offers a very American artichoke and cheese dip appetizer ($6.95) along with the vaguely Mediterranean baked eggplant cakes appetizer ($7.95). Both are great for sharing.
A crab cake appetizer ($9.95) is a little too crispy for my liking. But crispy works just fine with the calamari ($8.95) served with salsa as well as lemon aioli. The bruschetta topping ($6.95) is good even if the rosemary focaccia bread could be a bit warmer.
There's a short menu of brick-oven pizzas, and guests are invited to create their own. We chose the baba ghanoush ($11.95), with roasted eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, cheese and pine nuts. It somehow worked very well.
Some of the pasta dishes can be a bit fussy. Fettuccini Steelé ($14.95), for instance, gets basil pesto cream, a touch of tomato, roasted chicken, steamed baby green beans, wild mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Rotini ($14.95) is sauced with a balsamic chicken broth and then gets roasted chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, broccoli and pine nuts. These are extremely hearty pasta dishes guaranteed to fill you up. But don't come looking for simple pasta dishes in the traditional Italian mode.
Do come for marinated grilled chicken over mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach and balsamic red wine sauce ($15.95). A breast and leg arrives at the table with crispy skin and an intense flavor. It's also wonderfully moist and tender. Baked fillet of mahi-mahi ($18.95) has an onion crust and comes with basmati rice and grilled asparagus in tomato-chive vinaigrette. It's a wonderful mix of Asian meets Italian. Veal chop Milanese ($22.95) is bit too heavily breaded but much better than the overcooked risotto.
One dish, unavailable on the night I dined at Steelé, is veal meatloaf with wild mushroom red wine sauce. Judging by the other hits on this menu, it's got to be good.
Rengifo has an excellent pastry chef in Alberto Azucena, who makes an Italian pound cake ($4.95) called sacripantina that seems to me could be the next tiramisu. It's a layer cake scented with marsala. It has the same ethereal taste that tiramisu once did for me. Creme brulee ($5.95) wasn't as firmly set as some versions, but it works as it's served in an almond brittle basket with some very fresh berries. I can also taste why the wood-oven apple tart ($6.95) made with a flaky pastry was carried over from Prezzo. But where, I want to know, is Garlic Wellington?
Eight months after Rengifo reopened, Steelé is still creating its own identity. I'm looking forward to the months ahead.
Please phone in advance to confirm information on hours, prices, menu items and facilities. For review consideration, please fax a current menu that includes name and address of restaurant to 954-356-4386 or send to Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2293.
John Tanasychuk can be reached at jtanasychuk@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4632 or by writing to him at the Sun-Sentinel.