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| - I was in the area last night after a meeting and my colleague wanted to eat to kill some time before getting back on the highway. He suggested this place because it was close to where we parked, so I agreed even though I'm not particularly fond of Italian food.
It was quite crowded for a Monday evening. We were seated at the bar, but we got cute little corner seats with seat-backs so it was fine. Service was very nice, but the bartender took forever to take our order. Maybe he's used to people really taking their time over the menu. Once our orders were taken, the food arrived pretty quickly.
I ordered the carbonara. The pasta (noodle) itself was exceptional. Al dente with a pleasantly toothsome bite. I could have eaten a plateful of plain noodles. They were that good. The dish, overall though, was one-note. That note is salty. Yes, carbonara can be salty. Duh, bacon. But add some other flavours to elevate the salty profile. Find some balance.
This! This is why I'm not particularly a fan of Italian cuisine. The Italians don't seem to have a deft hand with balancing flavours the way that other cuisines do. There's no attention paid to the balance of salty/sweet/sour/bitter the way that Thai does, for example.
What would have elevated and balanced this dish? Some lemon perhaps (acid is great for brightening a bland, fatty dish). Or some freshness from a chiffonade of basil or some lightly sauted scallions or peas. Or some heat from crushed red pepper flakes. Fine, you guys will say, "Then it wouldn't be carbonara!" Well take your one-note boring pasta dishes while I liven up and balance the flavours of my own pasta dishes at home. Hmph.
Pasta (noodle) - 5 stars: Overall flavour: 1.5 stars; Service: 3 stars
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