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| - I am so torn in writing this review. I was really hoping to love this place. It's very close to my house, it looks like a classic joint (it totally reminds me of Louis' Restaurant in The Godfather on the outside), menu is simple and on and on...
Lobello's was featured on Guy "Fieri'"s show on Food Network a few years ago (don't call me "Ferry") where the meat ravioli was raved about. I was about to order that with a side of spicy sausage as my entree when our waitress told me about the special - Rigatoni Lobello. Rigatoni Lobello is rigatoni with spicy sausage and hot peppers. I was sold. My wife went with the meat ravioli.
This place is old school. Our food came with bread and little dinner salads in tiny chilled bowls. Adorable, I thought, we're off to a good start. My entree came out first, about 5 minutes ahead of my wife's.
The Rigatoni Lobello was amazing. Rigatoni cooked a perfect al dente, the hot peppers and sausage all wonderful together. No complaints about my dish - well, except for the price tag ... $16.95. I was not expecting that.
Now, on to the meat ravioli. This was such a huge bummer. The sauce was bland, the ravioli dough was thick, doughy, bland and overcooked. The meat filling was a tiny meatball and just a bit bland as well. The redeeming part of this dish was dipping it into the spicy sauce from my entree.
Total damage was $37 with the tip. This was just an expensive outing considering that only one of us really enjoyed our dinner entrees.
Unfortunately, I don't have much cause to return unless I know in advance that they are serving Rigatoni Lobello. Our waitress tells us that the specials are when the chef feels like it and that she hasn't seen Rigatoni Lobello for sale in a very long time.
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