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| - I usually avoid italian food, but Sassi's menu looked so interesting that I absolutely had to dine there. Having dated a person of italian heritage in a past life, I was aware that genuine italian food tastes completely different from what silly americanos expect. It's not the same over flavored cheesy mess that we serve in our americanized italian restaurants.
So having said that, it's a possibility that our palates were not on the right taste setting when we ate out that night - because I thought presentation was much better than taste.
The waiter described how dinner would be served and informed of the varied-sized dishes letting us know which ones would be good to share. We were amused to receive clean silverware and plates for every course. Then I remembered that's how the italian I dated used to eat. I used to complain back then, but I can eat like this all the time as long as I'm not washing dishes.
The bread basket was filled with bites of freshly cut bread and brought to the table with a bottle of evoo. I noticed 3 different breads, one which was similar to focaccia, but I can't say for sure. So fresh and breadly; they were cut from the kind of loaves that you could eat as a meal.
Off the menu, we ordered from each of the four sections and even stayed for dessert.
1. SPUNTINI
- roasted peppers with garlic and oregano bruschetta ($4)
- taleggio, apple, almond pesto bruschetta ($4)
- plate of friti zucchini with aioli $8
The bruschetta portions were smaller than I expected and there was minimal topping so it was an all around disappointment. After tasting, I forgot what I was eating. I did not appreciate the paired flavors and couldn't distinguish the almond. I would recommend skipping this app. It just made me sad and left me wanting something else.
The friti is worth getting if you want to tie yourself over until food comes and would rather avoid the bread basket. Not sure what the batter is called but it's very crispy, flaky, and fun and left the zucchini firm. Aioli compensates for missing seasoning in the friti.
2. ANTIPASTI
- grilled octopus with lentils, chiles, and olives ($15)
- sicilian style eggplant cakes with currants, pinenuts, and tomato sauce ($9)
- gamberoni dish of shrimp and proscuitto in butter ($14)
The octopus will totally catch you off guard. I took a small bite - it was tender and did not taste like any octopus I've had before. It took me a while to describe the flavor and the closest thing I can think of is - a seafood sausage.
The shrimp were served in shell with head on.
The best part of the eggplant dish was the sauce and I slathered that in my mouth with bread. Yum. The eggplant itself was weird. Only two small cakes were served but it seemed like each cake was made by different people. The first cake was good and made from one piece of eggplant. I didn't notice any pine nuts or currants. The second cake was make of diced eggplant, lots of pine nuts, and was so chewy that i couldn't swallow it. I tried three bits of it and I spit out every bit.
3. PRIMI
Pasta dish and a fish dish. Seasoning wasn't much.
4. CONTORNI
- brussels sprouts with capers, chile, and lemon ($7)
- roasted mushrooms with shallots and thyme ($10)
- fingerling potatoes with rosemary ($6)
Topside brussels of the spouts dish were burnt so I had to peel away those leaves, but the deliciousness of the rest made up for it. I didn't taste chile or capers but I love greens and would definitely order this again.
I would not order the mushrooms again. Some of them turned out rubbery and I think this dish would have fared much better as sauteed. Also, there were not enough shallots or thyme.
I'm on the fence about whether I would order the potatoes again. They tasted okay with very light seasoning. (Not enough rosemary.)
DESSERT
- canoli with pistachios and chocolate nuggets $9
Made with sweetened ricotta cheese and a house made wafer. Best canoli I've tasted.
Definitely recommend this.
So, overall if you want superb service and prime ambiance, go to Sassi. (5 stars)
If you want a superb meal, go somewhere else (3 stars) because you will spend all of your pretty pennies here.
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