Granted, we're all Irish today, but I still have to get this post out. It's the 2nd restaurant I've now revued for my March Maddness Challenge (see prev blogs) and I know you're dying to see what Cantina Italiana scored! Did this Italian haunt knock Fleming's out of the competition, or are did the steakhouse stay alive?
(You might want to famliarize yourself w/ the ranking system, by the way!)
Wednesday was a nice and crisp evening in the North End. My third time marching around there in under a week. I think I'm starting to fit in as a native because last night I got asked where Paul Revere's house was. And I knew! You're welcome, tourist. Don't forget your Mike's cannoli on the way out!
Do you judge books by their cover? How about people by their clothes? Well I judged Cantina Italiana from their glowing neon sign. Tacky? No way. Vintage, cultural, fitting. Love it. Made me want to rush inside and see the rest of the place.
Inside my date and I (Iesha, shocker) found that this restaurant probably had the most square footage of any other place in the North End. There was a lot of space between tables and booths, unlike the likes of Giacamo's or the top floor of my beloved Trattoria Il Panino. It was nice to have a little privacy!
We were immediately greeted by a super friendly bartender gal who liked my sweater. Points!!! Very shrewd, bartender. Very shrewd. In the booth behind us was a little family who's little daughter was the cutiest thing, giving out stickers. Although, I never got one, so...eh. (Insert winking emoticon here.)
Our waiter was very friendly and extremely attenttive. If only I could remember the gentleman's name. He had a lot of recommendations, knowledge of the menu and was just chatty in general, which is preferred. We like to make friends.
There was a lot of menu perusing. We couldn't decide on if we should do Restaurant week or the regular menu. I mean, right off the bat we knew we wanted the pitcher of Sangria (who love pitchers, people?) so that kept us distracted for a bit. Finalllllly we opted for the regular menu, and I'm glad we did. This way, we got a true sense of what daily dining is like here.
To start we got the Rucola ("Arugala, it's a veg-it-a-ble!") and the Caeser salads. The Rucola had a very grapey balsamic dressing with pine nuts and parmesean cheese. The menu actually listed this salad to have walnuts, so that was a little dissapointing. I wish the salad was a little smaller or included a few other types of like mixed greens. But in the end, it was good and I took home leftovers. The Caeser salad was incredible. Perfect amount of dressing, nice crunchy croutons and a nice peppery aftertaste. Good one.
For dinner Iesha got the Gnocchi con Crema di Gorgonzola, which was served in a hot baking dish on top of a dinner plate. I liked that. And the portion size was nice, too. Even more exciting than that was eating the damn thing. Holy smokes, was it good. The sauce was rich, but not too heavy and the kick of the sharp cheese was a nice enhacement. If you're not into a strong gorgonzola, you might not be able to handle it. The gnocchi themselves were...let's see, I need to think of way to put this that does not sound dirty. I will jsut say that they were the most perfect dumplings I've ever had. Perfect. Exactly what Padma would want on Top Chef! I mean it. Yowza.
My entree was the Linguine con Gamberi e Limone. I keep simplifying it to people as a scampi. The sauce was a white wine cream sauce, very light on the cream, and full of nice fresh lemon and garlic. Now I know you know that I don't do shrimp. But this "scampi" style sauce is one of my all time favs, so I ain't afraid of a few shellfish. I did give in to one shrimp and it was good. I just can never get past one. Iesha had more than one and gave her seal of approval. As much as I loved the perfectly cooked pasta and the sauce, I was kind enough to save some for leftovers for Roomie, who I knew would be all over it. It was hard to stop eating.
Our kind waiter encouraged us to try dessert, but we honestly couldn't manage. Their entire dessert menu looked fabulous, but our bellies said, "Ya right.". So we politely declined.
It was a very nice dining experience and I am thankful we ordered off the regular menu. Their daily offerings are clearly made with a lot of skill and good taste. So how did Cantina Italiana rank out over Flemings???
(Again, if you're a new reader, you may want to refresh yourself w/ older blogs to find out what the March Maddness contest is and how the Ranking System works)
Cantina Italiana scored a whopping 43 points out of a possible 48! Now that is tough competition, 'buds, and unfortuantely knocks Fleming's out of the competition. Thanks for playing, Fleming's!!!
So, next up this week will be Cronin's Pub in Quincy and Villa Roma, our final 2 contests in the challenge. Can either of these restaurants top a score of 43??? Who will win that $25 Phantom Gourmet Gift card???
...it's the little things that excite me.
Have a safe and FUN St. Patty's day! Be sure to have your hangover cures prepped in advance!
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