Tucked away only a few steps off the Court Street bridge overlooking the Chenango River, there blooms a family business with a Mediterranean mindset and the taste to boot. Currently in their soft opening phase, Jimmy Valdez and Vicky Alt operate Citrea Restaurant and Bar as a husband-and-wife team, with Alt’s father, Allen Alt, as a co-owner. Together they composed a diverse, fresh and delightfully citrusy Restaurant Week menu to promote their unique taste for a grand opening on Thursday, April 9.
Located at 7 Court St., Suite Three, Citrea’s soft opening began on Thursday, March 5 — the restaurant offered free pizza for Binghamton students who lived at Chenango Place. By the time Restaurant Week came around, the owners were greeted by a healthy crowd of intrigued customers.
“The business is definitely building,” said Joel Wetsig, one of Citrea’s managers. “Everything was slow at first but that was to be expected. The first night of Restaurant Week we were absolutely swamped.”
Understandably so — each item on Citrea’s Restaurant Week menu demonstrates the quality of its fresh produce and homemade ingredients in a distinct way. The garden salad was simple and naked, the red wine vinaigrette only detectable in small hints, yet the crisp cucumbers, plump grape tomatoes and pinch of red onions would charm any vegetable enthusiast. On the other hand, the pear salad burst with citrus as the pear slices were certainly marinated in the champagne vinaigrette for quite some time. (I do wish there were more slices of pear, however). Arugula was an appreciated exchange for the standard lettuce or spinach; its crispness was well complemented by the pine nuts, and the Gorgonzola’s salty bitterness was an accent to be remembered.
According to Vicky, they create a majority of their own sauces — from mustards to jellies — to ensure that they’re up to their standards. The di funghi pizza has a homemade sauce, too. Valdez showed us how he makes the mushroom puree for a base instead of tomato sauce. Since the pie is topped with additional mushrooms, I feared that their pungent woody flavor would be overpowering. I was happily wrong. The mushroom’s taste was mild and blended naturally with the earthy Fontina, while the chives supplied a satisfying crunch. The 19 Crimes Red Blend wine found on the menu as a replacement for the dessert was a pleasant pairing; however, I would recommend paying a little extra for the Trivento Malbec found on their wine list.
The Citrea pie was not as impressive. Again, each ingredient popped with freshness, and observing the shrimp freshly cooked on the grill was reassuring. However, the bitter lemon and spicy jalapeño pulled me in opposite directions. The Dark Horse Chardonnay was paired excellently with every bite into the fleshy shrimp coated with lemon juice.
To not comment on the Citrea staff would be a mistake. The hostess’ smile and greeting was warm like the restaurant’s yellow motif, and shortly after being seated we were accommodated by swift and receptive service. The awareness and timely consideration of our waitress really wrapped up the entire experience.
Valdez and Alt hope for their establishment to become a frequented upscale casual food and drink location. Their desserts speak to the same vision. The panna cotta was elegantly garnished with juicy chunks of orange and grapefruit that enunciated the creamy dessert. Hints of honey can be enjoyed throughout. If flan is your go-to, I would not miss out on this citrusy confection, but if weird textures are not your thing, I recommend avoiding it. Citrea’s zeppole dish was a foolproof end to a superb meal. Fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar with Nutella drizzled on top: sounds like a dessert cheat code. Although I would remark that the zeppole themselves would be improved if they were a little more light and airy, I would be lying if I said I was not left in my chair with a grin, a happy stomach and an exceptional first impression.