Culinary WHIRLED /WHIRL AFTER MIDNIGHT

Smoke on the Water

Cioppino shakes it up with a misty martini and a swanky cigar bar.

By Lauren Mifsud | Photography by Megan Wylie

Mango Madness martini

Iturn onto 23rd Street in the Strip District, and at first, I think I am lost. But there, nestled between the back streets and the railroad, shines Cioppino.

I peek through the glass windows and am eager to join the crowd, fluttering around the room. The warm glow of candlelight hugs the young couples and cliques of businessmen and women sitting comfortably around the restaurant’s bar. The moment I walk through the doors a feeling of familiarity washes over me: It’s as if I walked into my uncle’s house for a family dinner, complete with Tuscan-inspired food, fun drinks, and a lively crowd. General manager Ray Torris says the idea is to turn Cioppino into a local spot. “We want people to feel welcome, and to know that they can come in wearing a golf shirt and jeans, or a suit and tie, and they’re going to be treated the same,” he says.

Pizza, seafood, sliders, and antipasto — yum!

This night, the bar is debuting “smokin’ martinis.” I’m mesmerized by Mango Madness, which arrives at the table looking like a Halloween concoction. It fizzles, pops, and bubbles through my first several sips. “We wanted to create a new gimmick — something that would get people talking when you brought it to the table,” says Torris. A small cube of dry ice at the bottom of the glass creates that excitement. Sipped carefully, to avoid a fizzle in the face, the drink is fruity and smooth with a hint of the melon liqueur. The fruit-infused vodka is made at the restaurant, with produce purchased at Right by Nature, the natural foods grocery store just around the corner.

Ray Torris, Joe Lamatrice

After finishing my drink, I’m dying for a bite of the food that I’ve smelled since I walked in. A bowl of delicately plated clams and mussels steamed with white wine, generous amounts of garlic, and extra virgin olive oil is worthy of admiration. The Pizza Margherita combines fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil, and is hot, with a crunchy crust. But the highlight is a dish that Executive Chef Greg Alauzen says is the most popular item on the bar menu: the Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Minis. Served on potato rolls with crumbles of sheep’s milk blue cheese and a stew of sweet onion marmalade, the miniature lamb burgers are a sumptuous treat.

Lindsay Talbot mixes a Smokin’ Martini

An inconspicuous wooden door behind the bar piques my curiosity. I follow one gentleman inside and am instantly transported to a 1920s speakeasy. The room is Gatsby-worthy. Tall, luxurious wooden paneling, a ceiling-high bar, stocked with top shelf liquors, and a built-in humidor that is home to 30 different varieties of cigars all vie for my attention. “People will come for the food, but stay for the cigar bar,” says Torris. “It’s always busy in there.”

Like the traditional Italian stew it’s named for, Cioppino offers me a little bit of everything. I take one last look around the restaurant, wishing that my family was there to join me. But I know that when I do bring them to Cioppino, we’re only a martini away from a night that’s smoking — in more ways than one!

Cioppino, 2350 Railroad St., Strip District. 412.281.6593.

To purchase the rights to reprint this article, please email Jennifer Diamond.

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