Creamy confections are the face of Cibus, but there’s a heart here, too
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| SAVE ME, CIBUS!: The dessert tray at the NorthPark eatery is mouthwatering, but the entrees deliver, too. |
Remember that moment in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" when everyone enters Wonkaworld for the first time? Just looking at all the sugary delights cascading from the ceiling and poking through the floor would be enough to send most diabetics into comas. It was indulgent, astonishingly fatty and sparked envy in every sweet tooth.
Now imagine the same thing at NorthPark Mall. Only a lot of it is fat free.
It’s impossible to stand at the counter on the café side of Cibus, Alberto Lombardi’s latest restaurant concept, and not imagine yourself as Charlie Bucket or Violet Beauregard. Staring at the Technicolor garden of creamy sorbetti and gelati, many in exotic flavors, could be the visual representation of the tyranny of choices: How to select one, two, even three among a legion of delicious-looking frozen treats?
It might be easier if there were some outright losers among the passion fruits and wedding cakes and dulce-de-leches whipped into beautiful bouffants of juice and ice, but sadly, all are wonderful. (The merchandising alone makes the mouth water.)
Not all are fat free; only the sorbets (made without a whisper of dairy by an Italian master) are completely kind to the waistline. But note: That holds true not just for the lemon and bananas in the mix, but also a chocolate sorbetto, so dark and rich you’d swear a bar of Hershey’s formed its spine. Culinary self-gratification has rarely been so guiltless.
Which is not to say that Cibus is some kind of oasis for the health-conscious; far from it. Lombardi is from Italy, and he loves a heavy cream sauce as much as the next paisan. Delve deeper into the menu, and you’ll find some dishes to clog those arteries big time.
Not just among the desserts, either. Cibus (pronounced CHEE-bus) is Latin for "food," and there’re all kinds of sustenance here. In the front, Cibus looks like a fast-casual café in sunny tones, serving breakfast and lunch items like quiche, panini and pizzas as well as cannoli and Italian ices. But peer around the corner, and there’s a more formal ristorante for the serious-minded diner.
Not an expensive one, either. Lombardi — whose other popular Uptown eateries include Pescabar, La Cubanita, Tavern and Café Toulouse — is wizard of the affordable price-point. Nothing on the sit-down menu exceeds $20, and most hover around $13.
That’s a little surprising, considering how lush and inviting Cibus is. You can’t help being dazzled by the palette of pumpkin oranges and chocolate browns. The Murano glass chandeliers would be garish if they weren’t so impressive, and the retro-mod textured chairs imported from Italy have the dramatic curves of a grand prix track. Comfy banquets provide gracious amounts of space that keep the style open, not cramped.
That leaves plenty of room to loosen your belt, which you’ll be tempted to do by the cuisine. There are echoes of Taverna in many of these Italian dishes — notably the homemade focaccia ($5), a platter of crisp bread dry-drowned in parmesan cheese and served with oil and balsamic. I swear, I could eat one of these a day and never grow tired of it. The fritto misto ($10) and margherita pizza ($10) are also familiar. Then, there are the twists that make Cibus worth exploring.
How can you not order pizza "alla diavola" (in the style of the devil)? The spicy salami provided the expected kick without overshadowing the crumble of goat cheese and mozzarella. A bowl of minestrone ($6), inexplicably, contained no noodles or rice, though the taste was fine. Better was the shrimp bisque ($7), a gorgeous tomato-based puree drizzled with oil that was as soothing as a Beethoven sonata. The twinkle of truffle oil on the parmesan risotto ($15) was equally welcome.
Fully a third of the entrée menu is devoted to pasta (all $13), which you’d expect would be done well, without disappointment. The cappelletti — pouches of veal served in a roasted gravy — conjured a hearty savoriness without becoming heavy.
The same was true of the pappardelle (wide fettucini noodles) with duck and orange zest and the eggplant parmagiana (as my dining companion noted, a perfect dish for judging any good Italian restaurant). You can overdo and overwhelm such dishes, something Cibus scrupulously avoided.
On the other hand, a little more flavor in the lemon butter would have helped the filet of sole ($17). Dusted in semolina, the fish was cooked well but too dry and flimsy on the tongue without the bite of acid.
The desserts available in the dining room are as good as in the café, as we learned when sampling the pumpkin panna cotta ($7), a surprisingly delectable tweak on the classic custard. You can’t help but notice how Cibus brings you full-circle: Enter the café and begin with the desserts, finish off in the back with more desserts. That’s why the Italians call it la dolce vita.
Cibus at NorthPark Center, suite 1608, beneath the AMC Theatres. Restaurant hours: 11 a.m.–10 p.m. daily (open until 11 p.m. weekends). Cafe hours: Open 9 a.m. daily (11 a.m. Sundays). 214-692-0001. Cibusdallas.com.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition December 12, 2008.