I was so excited to try a Mario Batali restaurant after watching him on Food Network. I thought.. if he's the chef with the highest winning record on Iron Chef, he's got to be awesome. So sure.. I'll shell out the Las Vegas prices and try his amazing Italian food.
I went here because B&B was closed. It is in a cute setting.. you feel like you're in Italy sitting in a square. The menu is overpriced. I think it was like $3 for a slice of carpaccio.. seriously?
Bread wasn't even fresh and warm.. it was pre wrapped and burnt (well the first one was). And you have to ask for olive oil and cheese. Why does this not come standard?
We ordered the braised pork shoulder which is the staff's favorite (according to our waiter) and the carbonera (daily special for pasta). The braised pork shoulder was okay.. not really tender and not really uniform in tenderness. Some really tough parts and some not.. and a little too sweet. The cucumbers that came with it were good.
And the pasta.. was okay. $25 for a small plate of pasta? Really? And it wasn't even meaty or amazing. That cost about $1 to make and they made $25 from it.
The waiter was nice.. but didn't seem knowledgable. I am sorry Mario.. you lost me. I am going to have to believe that there is no such thing as good food from a celebrity chef.