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| - I should start by admitting that I'm sad to write this review. I was excited to go to Rao's. The service was impeccable (except for the hostesses, who had pretty negative, snooty attitudes). I had three great wines and the wine steward was very helpful and down-to-earth.
We started with the meatballs, as an appetizer. Good news: they were very nice--juicy, soft, tasty and the sauce was simple and nice. They were not mind-blowing, though. They were fine.
We split a bolognese for our first course. We both found it to be bland but acceptable, if a bit oily. It wasn't offensive, just really disappointing. The pasta was spaghetti and, to be fair, it was cooked correctly. Again, plating table side was very nicely done. We each ate maybe half of this dish.
We decided to split the second course, which was Chicken Scarpariello. I was really surprised at this dish. It's well-reviewed and our waiter recommended it. All I can comment on was what was served on this night and on this night it was incredibly salty and sour. The number of cherry peppers was so high that the brine overpowered the entire dish. I felt almost sick after eating. Between two of us, most of the dish was uneaten. I think we each suffered through one piece of the cut up half chicken. The dish includes a cream or butter but, for us, it just could not diminish the impact of all of those pickled cherry peppers. We took it home and I gave it another shot the next day and felt exactly the same way.
The cannoli for dessert was overly sweet. I like the glaceed (sp?) fruit pieces and this version had none. They opt instead to infuse the ricotta with Cointreau. It was fine, but not great. I missed a trace of cinnamon and vanilla. The shell was fresh and crunchy and good.
The bread basket was acceptable but uninteresting. They served a great, earthy olive oil for dipping. Its a shame. Much was fine but the Bolognese and the chicken were so disappointing. I'm glad I went but I would not go again.
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