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| - This is gonna be another one of my long-winded reviews, so if you're in a hurry I'll sum Dish up for you in one word: FANTASTIC.
Full disclosure: I have lived in the Southside for 5 years and have always heard from friends and locals alike that Dish is an experience to be had. Unfortunately, I just never seemed to make my way there until last night when we were able to secure a 7:15pm reservation for 2. I will say that choosing to dine on a Monday night definitely worked in our favor, because from previous reviews it appears their weekend evenings book at least a month out. We arrived around 6:30 to grab drinks at the bar and wait for our table. The bartender was pleasant and answered all of our questions, as well as made a few recommendations. I started with a Dirty Dish Martini ($9.50), garnished with gorgonzola stuffed olives. Yummy! It was made very well and went down a little too easy! We crept closer to our reservation time but I decided to order one more drink - the Branca Mule ($9). I love a good Moscow Mule and was intrigued by Dish's twist on this foolproof drink: made with lemons instead of limes, as well as Maraschino. This drink was a bit strong for my tastes and I found it a tad bitter... I would probably not order it again, though I'm sure any cocktail connoisseur would enjoy it.
The maître d' stopped by the bar and let us know that he was ready to seat us, but that there was no rush for us to pay our bar tab... I have always loved the Italian pace of life and Dish echoes that to a T. I imagine that they are a bit more rushed on weekends, but this particular night was relaxed and at our own pace. There was no hurry: the only place we needed to be was right here, right now.
Our waitress brought over water and the menus, and we decided to order the beef carpaccio ($11) and Melanzane ($9.50, grilled eggplant topped with buffalo mozzarella, basil and balsamic). Both were delivered to our table within minutes, and I have to think that their simple, refined menu is important in kitchen turnaround time. Both appetizers were phenomenal, easily shared between two people, and light enough that I wasn't dreading ordering a full meal afterwards. For our entrees, my dining partner ordered the gnocchi with sausage in a tomato sauce, and I settled on the rigatoni served with cream sauce, peas and prosciutto.
It wasn't long after our appetizer plates were cleared that the waitress brought us fresh bread with an olive oil+balsamic dipping oil and a few moments later, our entrees. My rigatoni was so outstanding that I am still thinking about it today and wondering how soon I can get another reservation. The gnocchi was fantastic too -- normally I steer clear of red sauce in restaurants because being raised Italian with a secret family sauce recipe has refined my palette maybe TOO much. Most restaurants serve sauce that is either too sweet, too saucy, etc... but Dish's sauce almost brought a tear to my eye. It tastes EXACTLY like the sauce my grandmother perfected and shared with all of the ladies in our family. The sauce that I spend hours in the kitchen making every few months... This whole time, it's little Italian twin is mere blocks from my front door! I was under the impression that the owner and the head chef here are both from Italy, and it shows. From the relaxed pace of your meal to the refined tastes you will experience, I would recommend Dish to anyone and everyone looking for a fantastic meal in the city.
We finished off our meals with an order of the tiramisu and a slice of lemon cheesecake, both of which are made fresh by the chef's mother-in-law! I don't even like dessert, but this cheesecake was so, so good. When the checks came, I was pleasantly surprised: 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts, a glass of wine and a bottle of San Pellegrino: $85. Not bad at all, considering some other reviews had me prepared to spend $85 on my share of the bill alone!
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