CITYSCENE
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Abbracci
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Abbracci is a time machine with one destination: 1947, the restaurant where your Mafia grandfather proposed to your pretty young grandma under a gold arched ceiling, supping on curled tendrils of eggplant roulade with glasses of lusty Chianti. The cheese was made in-house, and the service was divine. You can relive the experience (with or without the proposal) nightly, with one important difference: better wine, like Prunotto's Fiulot Barbera for a fair $34 a bottle or Allegrini's Valpolicella for $7 a glass.
- Kae Denino
Abbracci Steaks & Italian, 511 N. High St., Columbus, OH; 614-224-2373
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Basi
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Basi seats only 26 guests in a tiny glowing space nestled in a tree-lined brick alley. It's a bit as though Chef John Dornback and his wife Trish Gentile have invited you to their home, where they serve up pastas, salads, pizzas and all things fresh, honest and eclectically Italian. Delve into dishes like long strips of sashimi-grade tuna atop caper aioli, with wines such as Oregon's spritzy, zesty Sokol Blosser Evolution at $32 a bottle. Or try the pork loin chop swimming in a cherry, cinnamon and anise glacé; it's ideal with Masi's Campofiorin for $33 a bottle. Either way, expect luscious fare, with lots of candle light and an extensive, heavy-on-the-Italian-wine list.
- Kae Denino
Basi, 811 Highland St., Columbus, OH; 614-294-7383
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Zola's
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Zola's namesake is Emile Zola, who "came to live out loud," and they do it here in wild red lighting and wisps of warm wind from the floor to the high-ceiling copper fireplace. Cocktails here are top shelf and hand-squeezed, but don't let the lounge feel fool you. The food is exquisite, especially onion soubise, a creamy bisque you could bathe in, and the wine list is smart, concentrated on New World values like a silky Bethel Heights Pinot Gris for $25 or Turkey Flat's juicy Barossa red blend, "The Turk," for $26.
-Kae Denino
Zola Dining Lounge, 782 North High St., Columbus, OH; 614-291-3463
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