I made reservations at The Italian on Wednesday, but had to move it to Friday for work-related reasons. I figured that I need a good meal to cap off the week, and I'm glad I get to go to The Italian after a hard day at work.
Entering the restaurant, I loved the place immediately. It has dark wood floors, white linen covered tables, high ceilings and massive oil paintings. I was 30 minutes late but I was forgiven. There were high-backed sofas covered with red leather where every diner can sit comfortably and the last time I remembered being seated comfartably was when I dined at The Pearl.
There were no degustation menus but there were quite a number of specials, from Primi to Dolci. I can't remember every item that was dictated to me in detail by my server, but I remembered that I was choosing between a garfish dish (the description was two pieces of garfish with olives and basil in between and cooked over the grill) and a braised beef cheek with mashed potatoes and carrots. After my beef cheek experience at Anada, I know that I had to have beef cheeks again and why not? It's a cold Friday night and I have time to savor every bite of it. So, needless to say, the beef cheek got my vote.
Entree: The Italian Cured Meat of the Day was a peppered salami with marinated artichokes and fresh mozzarella. Just looking at the plate made my mouth water. There were delicious, well-marbled pieces of salami polka-dotted with lard and pepper, dressed with lovely olive oil and parsley. Mmm...The fresh mozzarella cheese was juicy and light. It has the right bite to it, not too stringy and mushy. The salami was a whole other level. It was smoky and rich, slightly salty and soft.
Main: Braised Beef Cheeks with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots. I've heard the two tables beside me debating over this dish. Apparently, they all wanted to order this one, but they would say that it's too fatty or too rich and they're not cut out for it, with their age and all. Good thing, I'm still young, so I can afford to eat what I want. When the warm plate of beautiful pieces of beef cheeks was set down in front of me, I'm in heaven. Just that scent of red wine and tomato sauce was just wafting into the air to my nose. I didn't use my table knife to cut through the beef cheek. No need. Just my trusty fork was enough. The beef cheek was sooo tender and every bite was just meltingly delicious and rich with intense and sweet red wine, tangy tomato sauce, onions, celery, parsley, thyme (of what I can taste) and carrots. A piece of the beef cheek and some mashed potatoes added the right balance to every bite and don't forget the sauce on the side!
Dessert: Affogato. This was my first affogato. Basically, it was 2 scoops of ice cream with a shot of espresso and a shot of frangelico or hazelnut liquer. It was the right ending to a great meal. It was sweet and surprisingly, it almost tasted like chocolate with hazelnut flavor. The espresso gave that kick to the dessert without being drowned in melted ice cream. There were also 2 thin pieces of biscotti on the side which I used to dip into the affogato.
I will definitely be back to The Italian for my last round-up come October. I can't wait to know what will they be serving for their specials come Spring.
Entering the restaurant, I loved the place immediately. It has dark wood floors, white linen covered tables, high ceilings and massive oil paintings. I was 30 minutes late but I was forgiven. There were high-backed sofas covered with red leather where every diner can sit comfortably and the last time I remembered being seated comfartably was when I dined at The Pearl.
There were no degustation menus but there were quite a number of specials, from Primi to Dolci. I can't remember every item that was dictated to me in detail by my server, but I remembered that I was choosing between a garfish dish (the description was two pieces of garfish with olives and basil in between and cooked over the grill) and a braised beef cheek with mashed potatoes and carrots. After my beef cheek experience at Anada, I know that I had to have beef cheeks again and why not? It's a cold Friday night and I have time to savor every bite of it. So, needless to say, the beef cheek got my vote.Entree: The Italian Cured Meat of the Day was a peppered salami with marinated artichokes and fresh mozzarella. Just looking at the plate made my mouth water. There were delicious, well-marbled pieces of salami polka-dotted with lard and pepper, dressed with lovely olive oil and parsley. Mmm...The fresh mozzarella cheese was juicy and light. It has the right bite to it, not too stringy and mushy. The salami was a whole other level. It was smoky and rich, slightly salty and soft.
Main: Braised Beef Cheeks with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots. I've heard the two tables beside me debating over this dish. Apparently, they all wanted to order this one, but they would say that it's too fatty or too rich and they're not cut out for it, with their age and all. Good thing, I'm still young, so I can afford to eat what I want. When the warm plate of beautiful pieces of beef cheeks was set down in front of me, I'm in heaven. Just that scent of red wine and tomato sauce was just wafting into the air to my nose. I didn't use my table knife to cut through the beef cheek. No need. Just my trusty fork was enough. The beef cheek was sooo tender and every bite was just meltingly delicious and rich with intense and sweet red wine, tangy tomato sauce, onions, celery, parsley, thyme (of what I can taste) and carrots. A piece of the beef cheek and some mashed potatoes added the right balance to every bite and don't forget the sauce on the side! Dessert: Affogato. This was my first affogato. Basically, it was 2 scoops of ice cream with a shot of espresso and a shot of frangelico or hazelnut liquer. It was the right ending to a great meal. It was sweet and surprisingly, it almost tasted like chocolate with hazelnut flavor. The espresso gave that kick to the dessert without being drowned in melted ice cream. There were also 2 thin pieces of biscotti on the side which I used to dip into the affogato. I will definitely be back to The Italian for my last round-up come October. I can't wait to know what will they be serving for their specials come Spring.
Comments