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| - As with all Little Italy restaurants, it took me way too long to get around to trying Gusto. I've been living a two minute walk from this place since 2009 and hadn't decided to check it out until last weekend. Unfortunately, the wait was not worth it. WAIT being the key word.
I called ahead of time, as we were famished and didn't want to encounter a long wait at 8pm on a Saturday night. I needed to be in bed early for the CLE Marathon the next morning, too, so there were a few factors at play here. Gusto came through when they said they could squeeze a table for 3 in in about 15 minutes. PERFECT. We got there and waited at least 15 more minutes for our table to be ready (also, the owner/manager touched me and leaned in way too close when he greeted us. I CANNOT handle being touched by strangers). They really shouldn't have squeezed us in because they clearly weren't prepared or in any position to take another table that night.
We started with mussels, which were delicious and actually came out quickly, but that almost made the wait for our entrees even more torturous. We waited at least 45 minutes or so for some pasta and a wedge salad. Total, we were there around 1.5 hours and only spent about 20 minutes with food on the table. My penne was OK; the pasta was nearly flavorless and incredibly dry. I picked the beans, spinach, pancetta, and tomatoes out of it and ate those, leaving almost all of the dehydrated pasta--I was too hungry, tired, and anxious to say anything/get another dish made. My mom's lasagna was good and my husband's salad was good...but none of those dishes were spectacular enough to make up for the time we spent there.
Also, the noise level made it hard to even enjoy each other's company while we waited. There was a keyboardist in the front and while he was good, it was pumping through the small dining space so loudly that we couldn't talk to each other. When that stopped, the owner/manager came around with an accordion and started serenading tables loudly. Luckily, he didn't come to our table as we were literally HANGRY. And if I got my eardrums blasted any more I would have cried.
I really don't see myself visiting again. I have this theory that if you can't completely blow me out of the water with $15 pasta in LITTLE ITALY, then I'm just going to make it at home for pennies and sit on my porch listening to the Sinatra soundtrack blasting through the street. Comfortable, not a waste of time, tasty.
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