I was surprised by the low ratings for this place. We walked into a beautiful room with a fabulous smell hanging in the air. It was an empty room, but we were eating a VERY late lunch. The staff was equally inviting. The problem was the food.
The Caesar Salad looked great and to their credit, anchovies were included, but the top was dusted with what tasted liked canned Parmesan cheese. After one bite of the pizza, my wife and I both looked at each other with a puzzled expression. "What is that taste?" Both of us were capturing a bitter/chemical flavor in the crust. Why the crust? We both tasted each element of the pie, one piece at a time. Because we ordered the Rapini, we both thought the bitter Broccoli Rabe was the culprit. We were wrong. The problem was different. Sausage? No. Mozzarella? No. Crust? Bingo! But what could be the problem with the crust? Unless the wood fired oven was fuel generated and imbedding a chemical scent to the dough, that did not make sense and we were assured wood was used. We're still confused.
This was an unfortunate experience. The server was very accommodating and apologetic. We wonder if the reason for low Yelp numbers is due to this inexplicable bitterness.