| rev:text
| - Ah, what to say about Stagioni? I can preface my review by saying that I am not usually a fan of Italian food, or more precisely the same old tired Italian food. Looking at the menu before making a reservation, I was already salivating and torn on what to order. My friend had already been there for drinks and suggested that we park out back, because the majority of the parking is out back off Fenton Place with only a few spots out front on Providence.
We were greeted warmly and sat immediately in front of the open kitchen. There are even 6-8 seats with a closer view of the kitchen in a straight bar type set up. Our server was on the spot to take drink orders, drop off bread and go over the menu with the group, including specials. I was expecting a slightly larger dining area and a more formal dress, but neither was the case and also neither was a problem. As the evening went on, there seemed to be a more formal dressed crowd, but overall it was a relaxed atmosphere and the dining room did not feel cramped.
Now onto the food, we started with some sputini or snacks which in this case were small portions to share. The group of four chose 5 different options to include chicken skin, truffled cauliflower, pickled veggies, house made ricotta and mortadella mousse. My standout was the mortadella mousse, just imagine spreadable mortadella. No one really liked the chicken skins as they were not really seasoned, even the person that really wanted to order them was disappointed. They weren't bad tasting but just under seasoned. The other 3 were great and very flavorful. When the snacks arrived, I ask our server for the clam and mussel pizza for the table to share, as I had forgot to order it the first go around. It came out quickly and it was pipping hot. It also came with a pair of pizza scissors for me to use. Well there is a first time for everything and they worked great to cut the pizza. The pizza had cauliflower purée as the sauce and topped with bacon and the aforementioned clams and mussels. It was delicious and I can easily see coming here just for drinks and their inventive pizzas.
On to the mains, 2 people, including myself had the grouper special which came with ramps and a ramp pesto. The fish was cooked to perfection and all the flavors blended together well. The other 2 diners, including the wife chose some house made pastas. Now the fish was good, but the pastas were out of this world good. It brought me back to my first trip to Italy over 20 years ago. Needless to say that next time, I am getting a pasta dish for my main. The pastas chosen were the rigatoni and triangle shaped goat cheese stuffed ravioli. For dessert, we went with buffet and by that I mean that we all chose one and we all shared. The cannoli were great in my mind as well as the raspberry gelato and pistachio gelato. The pear skillet cake was just alright and for me the zeppoli were not my thing, but everyone else at the table loved them. I think that they are just not in my flavor profile.
If you are wondering what we had to drink, nothing really stood out as far as the cocktails that we had. They have an extensive wine list that may be your best bet. I did find that the cocktails and deserts were a little pricy compared to the food. Either way, the food was fantastic overall and maybe we will try some wine next time. The few minor things that weren't perfect like the chicken skin and cocktails don't take away from a 5 star experience and I look forward to an evolving seasonal menu. After all, stagioni means season in Italian and I will hold them to that. It could also mean not the same old tired Italian food as well.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)