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| - I feel bad that a Baby Cow died in vain. TG we had a Localdines certificate because if we had paid full price, I would be totally peed off.
Attended the Scottsdale Philharmonic concert Sunday afternoon just down the street, & as La Torretta was conveniently located & as DH had been longing to try it for over a year & as we had certificate...
Arrived a little early for our reservation (Open Table) but they seated us immediately, at 6 pm, as only about 3 tables were occupied. First impression: dated. Cheesy 80's goomba, which can be kind of cool. Ceiling has this "broken" area so it's supposed to look like an old ruin & you are looking up out an ancient building to the sky. There is a mural on the wall of a naked woman (Venus?) with ornery little cherubs buzzing around her. It was done by an extraordinarily talented artist---the skin tones glow, but still she is in All Her Glory, so I'd feel funny with a younger child in tow. Mostly, I was unimpressed by the cleanliness. Too much Restaurant Impossible? The carpet was really grimy & I could see thick layers of dust of the back edges of the chairs & supports, & also on the top of the velvet drapes. Told DH NOT to go near the drapes during dinner as I didn't want that crap sifting down on my food!
Ordered wine---very happy with our selections & the prices per glass were reasonable. The wine was little slow to come out, but glassware sparkling clean. Our server recited the specials & my eyes lit up when she mentioned Osso Buco. I LOVE Osso Buco. Fortunately, as I contemplated that, another young man came with basket of bread & oil. One bite of dry, tasteless roll & equally tasteless oil & I became hesitant to spend $43 on the veal shanks. Oil served in a gravy boat with large spoon---very odd. If you poured oil from boat, you got none of the herbs and whatever in it---but the spoon was so large that to take it out of the gravy boat you had to tilt it and lose half the contents. It didn't matter---it had no flavor at all, despite lots of bits & pieces floating in it. I decided to go with the Gorgonzola salad with strawberry vinaigrette & Cannelloni Fiorentino & Gnocchi. Kind of a weird, carb-heavy combo, but description of the cannelloni sounded delicious. DH also got the salad & Pollo Farcito Formaggio Quattro.
Well, our salads finally arrived about 6.37. (Yes, by this time I am checking my watch.) Admittedly, dining room starting to fill up & appeared our server was only one working, but really? I almost gagged on first bite---so incredibly sweet. But as I started to get the tart, pungent gorgonzola along with the sweet vinaigrette, it was delicious. Also included blackberries & raspberries & candied pecans & greens VERY fresh, so ended up being very good. Took our time, but how long can you linger over a salad? Probably finished about 6.50. Server did stop in for a moment & we ordered another round of wine. Thank goodness, because our entrees finally appeared---I kid you not---at 7.17 pm. So the runner pops them down before us & I am looking at my plate & not feeling good about this. Looked like two cannelloni just visible under a layer of something---it looked like TVP (texturized vegetable protein). Tasted like it too---tasted like nothing. There was no seasoning, no depth of flavor--nada. The chicken filling inside was the consistency of baby food and again, no seasoning. I won't say it was disgusting---it was just flavorless. It WAS hot, I can say that! The gnocchi---and I find it hard to believe they were house-made, were actually cooked well, but again, no flavor, despite large pieces of mushrooms tossed in the bland cream sauce. The veggies were cooked tender-crisp, but again---no seasoning. DH said his chicken was well cooked (I had a taste and I thought it was a little overcooked) but only a whisper of the sweet, rich flavor of marsala. Even rosemary potatoes that accompanied---this is kind of gross, but DH got a couple of hard needles of rosemary caught between his teeth & when he wiggled them out & then chewed them, said it was like eating straw. Obviously, not using fresh herbs in the kitchen & considering even the dried had no flavor, assume it was old, bulk stuff. Potatoes though, were hot & steamy & cooked very nicely. Server stopped by, looked at my plate & said "No parmesan?" I told her I had not been offered any. So she whisked away & came back & generously sprinkled shredded parmesan on my dish. Some flavor now? No. Was that dryish, plastic parm they sell in giant bags from food services. Ugh.
Disheartened, we gave up and had the busboy box remainders, hoping I could "flavor up" at home. Waited 18 minutes for server to notice we were ready for our bill. Another 9 minutes to get the credit receipt. Really?
I feel bad because DH was really looking forward to this restaurant. What a let-down. Really surprised at all the positive reviews, but then I see Yelp filtered all the 1 & 2 star. Hmmm. Cannot recommend.
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