Holy last weekend! Bianca, The Palm, Home, and Colicchio & Sons!

Thursday night

After a long day at the office, we headed out for a meal at Bianca...a spot we had last hit up about 3-4 years ago and needed our fix again. Bianca is owned by the same person who owns Celeste (a Farkas family favorite) and Teodora - both of which serve authentic, delicious and affordable Italian food. The constant wait is partially a result of Bianca's cramped quarters but also indicative of the fact that the food there is awesome & everyone wants a piece.

When you're told that there's a wait, you can go to the bar next door and they'll come find you when your table is ready. Or you can just hang out on Bleecker Street. Either way, you're a winner when you get seated. Bianca feels very New York. You are practically seated on top of your dining neighbors and the pace of the wait staff can best be described as hustle & bustle. They start you off with some bread & fantastic olive oil. Rumor has it that the owners bring in their ingredients fresh from Italy.

They have a limited selection of vino by the glass but what they do have is good (and affordable). A pot of mussels to start was a great way to kick things off. In typical fashion, Eric was slurping down the leftover mussel broth at the bottom of the bowl. Jess is a HUGE fan of their balsamic chicken and she ordered that. It didn't disappoint. The balsamic sauce is thick and sweet with just enough acidity, and alongside a bed of mixed greens, this dish is filling and fantastic. Eric went with their lasagna bolognese. It was as good as the reviews made it out to be.

By the end of our entrees, we were stuffed & pleased to see a $50 bill... Two glasses of wine, a bowl of mussels, and two entrees. This place is a steal and we'll be back prior to 3-4 years down the road. In typical NYC fashion, by the time we were out of the restaurant, another couple was promptly seated at our table. The hustle & bustle never stops....

Friday night

April 8th... Eric's mom's birthday! We celebrated with a meal at The Palm West. We had previously eaten there for Eric's parents anniversary in December and his father liked it so much that he wanted us to go back. Sure thing! You can check out our initial review of The Palm here.

The only thing we would add is that the waiter we had was a bit sour and the steak was overcooked by one notch: medium rare was medium, medium was medium-medium well. While the steak was still delicious and we finished every last bite, we made a note of this to the manager and they brought out a tray of desserts for us on the house. A very nice gesture.

Saturday brunch

For brunch we headed over to Home, a cute spot in Greenwich Village. Our friends who live nearby steered us here and we were looking forward to some home cooking in a beautiful outdoor garden.

We were both slightly underwhelmed. The duck confit & butternut squash hash with sunny side up eggs was good, but it sounded better than it tasted. Jess' chopped salad was OK but nothing to rave about. I don't think we'll be back for brunch in the near future. Oh well.

Saturday night

That night, we met our friends at the Tap Room at Colicchio & Sons. This was preceded by Tom Colicchio (@tom_colicchio) tweeting us (@restohoppers) his recommendations on what to order. Unfortunately for us his 3 recos (pork belly, cod, & duck) were not on the Tap Room menu. The Tap Room is the dining area by the bar, and has a different menu than the dining room.

For starters, we got adventurous & shared the bone marrow, which was raved about by all the reviewers. It was spread on some toast with an onion relish. We all liked it but didn't love it. We tasted more of the onion relish than the marrow. We also shared the taleggio & sopressata pizza and the cavatelli...a great way to start the meal off.

For our main course, Eric got the burger and Jess went with the tilefish. The burger with onions & pecorino cheese was really juicy and flavorful and a hit at the table. Jess was so enthralled with Eric's burger that she came back for a 2nd bite! Eric was dubious at first, but the bbq potato chips served on the side were a great compliment.

We topped things off with a duo of desserts. The ice cream parfait outshined the cookie jar by a mile.

All in all, the food, the company, & the atmosphere were top notch! If you want to get a little bit of Tom Colicchio goodness without breaking the bank at Craft or the main dining room, then Tap Room is a great place for you.

So, there you have it... a helluva weekend for the resto hoppers!

Frankies Spuntino (17)

SPUNTINO (spoon'tîno), noun: An informal meal or a snack; also, a casual Italian eatery.

If you're looking for a fresh, delicious Italian meal, you're not at a loss for options in NYC. What makes Frankies Spuntino better than the rest? The friendly faces and comfy feel…oh yeah, and the meatballs.

Frankies had long been on “the list” but due to the no reservations policy, it’s only appropriate for certain evenings. When Eric and I planned to grab a bite on Friday evening with no real plans after, this was a perfect destination. We walked in and were told it would be a half hour wait…we were expecting longer. The people who walked in five minutes later were told an hour and 15 minutes, so I guess we arrived during the sweet spot. We stood around the bar area with some wine, beer, bread and olive oil, conversing with the bartender about his favorite dishes, so the wait seemed to whiz by.

Upon sitting, we ordered the Cremini Mushroom & Truffle Oil crostini, which was good, but not nearly as delicious as our recent crostini binge at Corsino. We also ordered the Meatballs with Pine Nuts & Raisins, which were the star of the meal. They didn’t come with quite as much marinara as we needed to cover each bite, but regardless, they were a dish we would order again and again.

Eric got the house-made Cavetelli with Faiccos Hot Sausage & Browned Sage Butter, which he promptly devoured. Cavetelli is an interesting pasta because most people have no idea what it is. The best way to describe it would be to show you a picture. See below. The portion was large but not over-the-top, the pasta was perfectly cooked, the sausage added a ton of flavor & a nice kick, while the browned sage butter lightly coated it all and added a ton of flavor. All in all, a fantastic ordering decision.

I got the Roasted Vegetable Salad, which was a mix-up of beets, sunchokes, mushrooms and other yummy roasted vegetables. No lettuce in this salad…it was light and packed with flavor. On an evening when I didn't want to eat too heavy, this was the perfect choice.

Frankies is definitely a unique and cozy New York spot. We're looking forward to dining at Frankies (457) Sputino in Brooklyn...the original. Check it out!

Alidoro

One of the first things my sister Elissa said to me after I told her the location of our new apartment was that I had to try this incredible sandwich shop on Sullivan Street.  After doing some digging, she remembered that the name of the shop was Alidoro & it's located on Sullivan between Spring & Prince. 

After meeting for lunch 5 months later, I now get where her enthusiasm comes from. The shop is a hole in the wall and normally you'd walk right by and think nothing of it. Looks can be deceiving. The inside has a cluttered feel, as the walls are lined with Italian books & pictures and there are two tables stuffed in a corner. There's enough seating for 6-8 people and barely enough room to stand and wait in line. This is one of the reasons why there's often a line out the door. 

As for the service... there are two people behind the counter making each sandwich fresh to order. I read some reviews in which the woman was referred to as the "Sandwich Nazi" and I can see why. She yells at you to give your order and if you speak too fast, she's not afraid to yell some more. There's also a long list of "NO's" taped to the wall to ensure that diners aren't foolish enough to ask for salt, pepper, basil, tomatoes, or anything else you might expect at a restaurant. This is no ordinary restaurant and you better get that in your head before you speak to the Sandwich Nazi. It takes a little while for the guy to make your sandwich because he's half slicing your meat and half watching whatever is on the 10 inch TV on his side.

You deal with it because when you finally sit down to enjoy your sandwich, you're transported to the Italian countryside. Full disclosure: I've never been to Italy. But if the sandwiches there are half as good as what they've got at Alidoro, then I can't wait to get there!

All of the ingredients in your sandwich are assembled after you place your order and you can taste the freshness of the meat & veggies in every bite. I ordered the Pinocchio sandwich on sfilatino bread (hallowed out so it's nice & crunchy and not too bread-y) while Elissa got her favorite, the Pavarotti, on focaccia bread. The pinocchio is stuffed with prosciutto, sopressata, fresh mozzarella, sweet roasted peppers, & olive paste. The pavarotti has salami, smoked mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, & sweet roasted peppers. Personally, I thought the pinocchio was superior to the pavarotti but it's all a matter of your personal taste. Order whichever sandwich tickles your taste buds. Check out the full menu here.

The sandwiches cost anywhere from $9-11 and if you veer away from their white or whole wheat breads then you're going to have to pay $1-2 for the bread of your choice. This may seem to be a bit much but the sandwiches are HUGE and can easily last for 2 meals. We both stopped eating half-way through and were quite satisfied. The other half made for a great dinner alongside the red curry tomato soup Jess cooked up later in the day.

I'm not gonna lie.. I was a bit skeptical about Lis' recommendation, but I was proven wrong. Alidoro is an amazing sandwich shop and I will definitely be back real soon to try some of the other oddly-named sandwiches on their menu.

Bar Pitti

A classic village Italian eatery. A great place to eat outside. Consistent in delivering delicious meals. There aren't too many NYC restaurants like it. On the first warm day of the year (in February?) we headed to Bar Pitti in hopes of sitting outside for a Friday night meal. As the sun set, it became a tad cold so we opted for an indoor table.

Having lived in Italy for 5 months while studying abroad, I can honestly say that this place feels like a true Italian restaurant - the host, chefs and waiters are all Italian and the dishes are authentic Italian, not Americanized or fancy Mario Batali Italian (not that there's anything wrong with that).

We started off with some house wine and the caprese salad with burrata, which comes in a huge blob like this:

I certainly learned what I was missing all these years by getting buffalo mozzarella instead. Burrata is more expensive but once you cut through the outer shell, the cheese oozes out and is creamy and delicious. Burrata is made from mozzarella and cream and literally means "buttered" in Italian. The cheese with fresh tomato and basil was heavenly. The texture was like a mix between ricotta and mozzarella.

Eric went for the Rigatoni Pitti: turkey sausage, peas, cream, tomatoes & parmigiano. The dish was just enough pasta (cooked just right) and each bite was just creamy enough - perfect balance between the meat, peas and cream.

Jess went with a chicken special: grilled chicken over greens, leeks and sundried tomatos. There was also a lemon dressing that really brightened up the dish and made each bite flavorful and delicious.

This is a great local spot and we're happy to be around the corner! We'll be back again real soon for an outdoor meal when the sun stays out til later in the evening!

Lupa

Lupa seemed liked the perfect place for a Tuesday night birthday celebration with family, especially because the weather was inclement - no surprise there this winter! - and it's right around the corner from us.

A Batali joint around the corner that we hadn't tried in the five months of living circa Thompson Street? We know. We're disappointed with ourselves too.

On a "side street" in Greenwich Village, Lupa looks low key from the outside but once you enter, it has a busy, crowded feel that's amplified by the hordes of people waiting for tables. For the most part, this frantic feel disappears when you sit down at your table. We were seated in the front room by the bar but they also have a dining room in the back that is probably a bit more relaxed and would make for a more intimate dining experience.

The loaf of bread lightly sprinkled with rosemary & sea salt was served alongside a tasty bowl of olive oil. The perfect way to get your guests into an Italian mood. We started with two bottles of wine - a red & a white.

We shared a few appetizers for the table: marinated olives, beets w/ pistachios, brussels sprouts w/ apples, & squash w/ hazelnuts. Sharing apps for the table is definitely the move at Lupa since they are served in well-portioned (not too big, not too small - a theme for the meal) bowls in the middle of the table. This allowed everyone to sample each app & then go back for seconds. Aside from the olives, the 3 "star" veggies were a major hit at the table - they tasted fresh and were complemented by flavors and textures that worked very well together.

Spaghetti Carbonara, Ricotta Gnocchi, Chicken alla Diavola, & Arctic Char with Cauliflower & Meyer Lemon: it was an all-star line-up of Italian dishes. The first thing we noticed was that the portions were not very large. I guess Italians don't like to eat a lot. Hmmm.... that's not true. Maybe it's just a Lupa thing - they want you to go with three courses.

However, the chefs at Lupa do a phenomenal job of packing a ton of flavor into their smaller-sized dishes. There were a few "ooohs" & "ahhs," a "you have to try this," and by the time we cleaned up our plates, everyone was quite satisfied. I would be remiss to say that this was the best Italian we've ever had. Jess' dad & I both agreed that we'd had better versions of our dishes elsewhere - Carbonara & Gnocchi. I will say that having a smaller portion made you appreciate each bite that much more. There's something to be said for that. And, the smaller portions turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as we had enough room for dessert, which is usually not the case after eating a bowl of gnocchi or carbonara.

Despite pleading, Jess was faced with the b-day candle attention she tried desperately to avoid.

The Tartufo & dates with mascarpone provided the perfect sweet-tooth satisfaction after a fun-filled and tasty Italian meal. For a nice dinner out, Lupa doesn't break the bank and with a diverse menu filled with attractive options, we'll definitely be back.

Check it out yourselves and let us know what you think... just make sure you make your reservation 30 days out as it's tough to get a table.

L'Artusi is for Lovers

This past weekend, Eric and I hit up L'Artusi, which I had been wanting to try for a while now. We were lucky enough to get a 9 pm reservation, because it's definitely one of those places that's always packed. For a quieter, more intimate meal, try to be seated upstairs, where they have a wine room and less going on. We sat on the first floor in the back by the kitchen, where it was loud and crowded. However, even though I felt like I was in the middle of our neighbors' conversation, they couldn't distract me from the fact that their food rules.

We started out with the mushroom appetizer with fried egg, pancetta and ricotta salata. Each bite was full of flavor - maybe a little salty - but definitely one of the best mushroom dishes I've tasted. Complete flavortown. 

Mushrooms covered with a fried egg

Next up was the butter lettuce with lemon crema, gorgonzola, hazelnuts and olives. We both agreed that in our meal's setlist, this was the slow song that you need to catch a breather in between non-stop rock and roll jamming. Not a bad slow song - this dish was great. The lettuce was soft, the cheese was creamy and the hazelnuts added a nice crunch. This dish completely did it's part and did us well.


A heaping pile of butter lettuce

The ricotta ravioli with pecorino and black pepper came next and was recommended by our waitress because they make their ricotta in house. Perhaps aided by the buttery sauce, this pasta was deliciously rich and savory. I'm happy we decided to split everything because each dish was rich enough that you were fine having just half....well, maybe we could have each had a serving of this ravioli.

Our entree was the chicken, which was another recommendation by the waitress, after acknowledging, "I know it's chicken, but it's delicious." She was correct - they serve it in their own type of marsala sauce and every bit was tasty and savory - not dry and plain like chicken can be. This was the rocking set closer of our meal.

Encore: enter olive oil cake with a side of cappuccino gelato. This satisfied our sweet tooth and was a great capper to the evening.

We'll definitely be back here - it's a great place to go with a group and share plates. Or you may just want to go and get the ricotta ravioli for yourself. I know Eric does. http://lartusi.com/index.html

Monte's Trattoria (Revisited)

I previously blogged about Monte's Trattoria (see here). Well, I was back on Friday night with my parents. It's one of their go-to restaurants in the city, and one of the perks of Jess & I living in the Village is our proximity to Monte's. I wanted to revisit this entry because of an incredible dining experience and their food is so darn good I feel like writing about it!!

I went away from my normal order (Shrimps Monte) and got the Veal Bolognese. This is the dish that my mom always gets and last time we were here, I tried it, and fell in love. Bolognese is NOT the right description since it's not even close to a traditional meat sauce. What it is is tender, thinly sliced veal that's topped with perfectly cooked prosciutto (crispy & tender all at once!) and mozzarella cheese, and surrounded all over by the most flavorful wine sauce. Their generous portion allows you to have all aspects of the dish in each bite! It's the kind of dish you wish they served at Olive Garden so it can be never-ending. Of course, the OG could never produce something this tasty.

Monte's is a go-to spot for the Farkas Family because I'm already excited to go back there and get this dish again! Go there & find out for yourself why we love it so much!

Earth to MATILDA

Oh, BlackboardEats, you have brought us to many great places with your deals! This week's adventure...Matilda on 11th Street between Avenue B & C. It's tucked away and is definitely a local hangout, which is why it was completely empty until around 8 pm. We went from being the only table at 7 pm to being ignored by our waiter at the end of the meal! That brings me to the only flaw - bad service. Besides that, the meal was great and full of flavor!

Mexican & Tuscan fare, you say? We're there. We started out with the guacamole with basil (instead of cilantro) and red pepper, which made me think: why doesn't everyone make guacamole with basil? It was GREAT and definitely a stand-out against every other guac I've had. We almost ordered a second, since it's not that large of a serving, but ultimately decided on another appetizer.

The BlackboardEats deal was a free bottle of wine with your dinner, so we got a bottle of the Pinot Grigio. I'm always a little afraid to take advantage of deals or discounts, but this restaurant was all for it and I'm sure they've gotten a lot of new business because of it.

For the main course, I got the Salmone Al Tamarindo - roasted salmon fillet topped with a balsamic-tamarind reduction, served with sauteed spinach and shoestring tortilla chips. The menu also mentioned that this dish is the winner of "Matilda's Cooking Slam," whatever that is. But I will say (as would the other other diner who ordered this), it tasted like an award-winning dish. The salmon was perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The balsamic sauce and spinach really complemented the dish and the tortilla chips gave it some texture & crunch.

Eric got the BlackboardEats-recommended Gnocchi with a basil-cilantro pesto. This dish is right up his alley and with a little help from his friends (me & the 2 other diners), the plate was wiped clean by the end of the meal (this is not a rare occurrence). They even left him the Parmesan cheese dish so he was able to spread it on top of the gnocchi liberally. The best bites came from the middle of the dish when the gnocchi was soaked in the delicious pesto & topped with a dash of cheese. Gnocchi with pesto is a famous & dangerously delicious dish. Matilda threw us a Mexican cilantro twist curveball and hit it out of the park.

With a cute atmosphere and great food, I would definitely give Matilda another visit in the near future! Check 'em out here: http://www.matildarestaurant.com/menu.html

Monte's Trattoria

My parent's best friends were in from the west coast, so we were going to do a family dinner with them on Friday night. While trying to brainstorm a great place to take them that would represent New York properly, I quickly suggested that we head to one of my family's favorite Italian restaurants... Monte's Trattoria in the heart of Greenwich Village. Monte's has an old school Italian restaurant feel with a wait staff that has been there since my parents started going there many, many years ago.

For the table, we shared their baked artichoke dish as well as their mussels in white wine sauce. There were also a couple of salads going around but Jess & I didn't partake. The baked artichoke was stuffed with a tasty breadcrumb-based mixture, some olive oil, garlic and cheese - delicious but a little oily.

The mussels were very good and the white wine sauce they were soaked in had chunks of garlic and was good enough that my dad & I did a little bread-soaking. There was also some bread-soaking in the remaining juices of the baked artichoke app. We do a lot of bread-soaking in this family.

For our main course, I got the Shrimps Monte's. My dad turned me on to this dish a few years back and every time we go there, we always get the same thing... it's that good! You get 5-7 large shrimp that are breaded with garlic, parsley, olive oil, & goodness. Served with a side of linguine in garlic & oil sauce (you can also get veggies), the perfect bite consists of a fork-full of linguine, a half of a shrimp, and a splash of parmesan cheese. Close your eyes, chew, and enjoy! Love this dish!

Jess got the Chicken Cacciatore, which was also a big hit. The chicken is in pieces (both white and dark meat) in a thick, savory, brown sauce with mushrooms and red peppers. The sauce is definitely bread-dunk-worthy and the chicken was delicious and tender.

It's worth noting that my mother's dish, the Veal Chop Milanese, was melt-in-your-mouth good! If I were to ever veer away from the Shrimps Monte's, it would be for this dish.

For dessert, the table split a canoli, tiramisu, & zabaglione. Depending on what tickles your fancy, everything was good, but nothing was you-have-to-get-this great. Nonetheless, a nice way to satisfy ones sweet tooth.

Looking for a great Italian restaurant with a New York feel in the village? Check out Monte's on MacDougal... hopefully you enjoy it as much as my family does.

For more information: http://www.montestrattorianyc.com/

Babbo

We had a month to look forward to Babbo, since you need to call exactly a month in advance (by calendar day) to get reservations there. Now, Babbo is spoken of as one of the best Italian restaurants in the city and is known to be Mario Batali's best and favorite spot...and it shows. From the moment you walk into Babbo, you get the sense that everyone there feels lucky to be there. It's elegant & upscale, without being stuffy. We happened to eat there on a night that Mario himself was in the kitchen, albeit earlier that evening, before we got there.

They start you off with a small bite - we got chickpea and olive bruschetta. From there, there are several ways you can go:

-Tasting Menu: there are two - one is all pasta and one isn't. You can add along wine pairings for an extra $50/person. While we heard this was a great way to go and our waiter suggested it, he also mentioned that it's A LOT of food and Babbo doesn't skimp on their portion sizes, so we decided to not leave feeling like pigs.

-Share antipasta/pasta/main courses: You can split any combination of the three courses, since all the plates are huge and share-able.

-Share pasta/separate main courses: This is the way we went, detailed below...

We went with a bottle of white wine ($35) and ordered the Black Spaghetti with Rock Shrimp, Spicy Salami Calabrese and Green Chiles. Oh boy! Every bite was perfection - the chiles added just enough kick but didn't make it too spicy. There could have been more shrimp, but that didn't even matter because the pasta was that good.

For my entree, I got the Soft Shell Crab special with Polenta and Favas and I was slightly underwhelmed. The crab meat under the fried exterior didn't taste up to par with the rest of the meal. Also, the polenta lacked flavor and overall, I was expecting more.

Eric got the Grilled Pork Chop with Cherry Peppers, Cipolline and Aceto Manodori. It's a large portion of 2 chops, and can easily be split. After serving, they pour an aged balsamic vinegar on top. This "topping" really adds an extra dimension & in my opinion, it brings the whole dish to life. The chop is now oozing with flavor. It was cooked in such a way that the closer you got to the bone, the more rare it became (but never too rare) and the more & more flavorful it tasted. Of course, combining a bite of the crispy exterior & the rare interior is what it's all about.


For dessert, we shared the Banana Walnut Olive Oil Cake with Banana Yogurt Gelato and Creamy Caramel which was a delicious way to end the meal. Since having Mario's Olive Oil Gelato at Otto, we knew that he knew exactly what to do with Olive Oil in a dessert. We washed that down with a glass of Moscato which was a perfect accompanying drink!

We will definitely be back to Babbo - if not only for Jess to order an entree that she will love just as much as the dining experience and other bites she had. It's truly a special experience and is great for special occasions... like the 4 year anniversary we celebrated!!

Il Bastardo

Il Bastardo, in the heart of Chelsea, does the trick when looking for a Saturday night date spot with a nice atmosphere, full bar, and great food. Outdoor seating is available, but on this chilly evening we chose to sit in the dining room with the bar. There were two other large dining rooms further back in the restaurant that also had a nice ambience. The place has a very dark, polished feel to it but the abundance of wooden tables and dark woodsy colors makes it feel cozy and comfortable.

The baked eggplant appetizer was pretty much Eggplant Parm served in the pan- which was not well-described on the menu. It's a nice portion so you can easily split this before digging into your entree. We wouldn't recommend more than a 1/2 app per person because the entrees are large and the complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic can easily fill you up if you're not careful.

My skirt steak was marinated and topped with a chimmichurri sauce, which made for a delicious piece of steak. It didn't hurt that the meat was cooked to medium-rare perfection! Served with sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes, you really can't ask for more from a skirt steak entree. I would recommend this to anyone in the mood for some steak.

Jess ordered the pounded chicken breast, served with mesclun and tomatoes. While this is a plain dish at heart, it really lacked flavor. If looking for something healthy, this is a good option, although I think I've made better versions of this dish myself.

For 1 app, 2 entrees, 3 dirty martinis ($14 each!), tip & tax, the total came to $113... Much steeper than what we thought we were getting into, but that might be our own fault for ordering $42 worth of alcohol.

Overall, it was a good meal but I don't see us rushing back to eat here. I can think of many more delicious options for an Italian meal, although perhaps not in Chelsea.

Gonzo

Last weekend, we went out to dinner with our parents to Gonzo (13th St btwn 6th & 7th). We had heard good things and it was on our mental list of "places to try." Gonzo is sneakily big as you walk down a few stairs to get in and are greeted by a bar area with a bunch of tables. However, if you keep heading towards the back, you walk into a large dining room with an open, yet rustic, feel.. With the large, open room, Gonzo got loud by 9-10 PM when it really started to fill up. They seated us at a circular table, which is always nice when you are dining with 6 or more people. Plus, by going with a group of 6 people we were able to sample a bunch of the different dishes offered:

Appys: We'll start off with what Eric felt was the best thing that he tasted all night... Wild mushroom pizza! We ordered a pizza - half mushroom, half margherita - for the table and everyone was able to eat 2 slices (1 of each).

The sauteed mushroms & onions were carmelized to perfection and together with the muzzarella cheese and "tortilla-thin" pizza crust, it was a pizza party for your taste buds! Everyone who tried this slice was a fan! The margherita was fairly average, so we would say that if you go, try something a bit more exotic - they had lots of pizza options with a variety of toppings.

We also shared the grilled onion salad with aged balsamic vinegar and the arugula salad:


Both salads were a success and the same could be said for each: if you like onions/arugula then you'll be sure to enjoy this salad. For an additional $4, you got some aged balsamic vinegar on top of the grilled onion salad. We read before that this was worth trying so we indulged. No doubt, it was tasty & a great way to give the dish a little more life, but if you're not a big balsamic fan or don't want to spend $17 on a salad appetizer, don't feel bad for not getting it as it doesn't make or break the dish. The arugula salad comes with a tasty surprise underneath the bed of greens, but we wouldn't want to ruin that for you so you'll have to go to Gonzo to see for yourself!

On to the entrees: I (Eric) got the braised shortribs since it came highly recommend by our server (very sweet woman, although on this Saturday night, she was a bit all over the place). I normally don't order shortribs but I figured what the heck!


The shortribs were very tender, and were falling off the bone. The meat had tons of flavor and the fat was marbled right in there so very few bites were too chewy or fatty. The portion size was HUGE and could easily be split into two meals. Especially since we got a handful of sides for the table.

The creamy polenta was super rich and had mascarpone cheese mixed in to give it its creaminess. It paired perfectly with the hearty shortribs. The balsamic roasted brussels sprouts & roasted asparagus were both above average sides that paired better with some of the lighter dishes on the table.

Would I get the shortribs again? Probably not. Even though they were cooked very well, it was still a bit too fatty for me, and just not my thing. Next time around I want to see what their pasta dishes have to offer..

I (Jess) went a little lighter and ordered the grilled scallops:


There was an arugala pesto on top and it was a lovely flavor match for the scallops. Since it's been almost a week, I don't remember what went along with them, but it was a delicious dish that I would order again if I went there.

For dessert, the table shared two dishes: a brown sugar cheesecake & a pecan praline ice cream sandwich. The latter was held together by two pecan meringue cookies and filled with vanilla ice cream. The former was a slice of cheesecake heaven to top off an already rich meal. This was one of the stronger pieces of cheesecake we've had in some time with a great, crumbly crust and sweet, creamy filling. Won the award for the dessert MVP! Please make sure you save some room for it!

Also worth mentioning was that Gonzo had a great wine list, with lots of good reds & whites to choose from. All in all, Gonzo is a solid spot worth venturing to for a quality Italian meal. We hope to return soon to sample some more of their menu.