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| - Truly a fantastic meal. I would have been happy to pay 3 or 4 times the price for what I got. I have zero complaints and I've been raving about this place nonstop since my first visit. I am going to become a regular and bring a lot of friends here.
My date and I each got meatballs - classic with classic sauce, and vegetarian with parmesan cream sauce, split truffled white beans and pancetta as a side, and had a Shock Top draft and a watermelon mojito to drink. All totaled, $31.71 with tax!
Both main courses were divine. The sauces were tastefully portioned as an accompaniment to the meatballs, rather than drowning them. With the classic-classic combination, I got exactly what I wanted: the taste of my Italian grandmother's cooking that I loved so fondly as a child. Tender meatballs and silky, fresh tomato sauce impressed me so much that I made a point of personally complimenting one of the owners, who was present. Our vegetarian meatballs were right up my alley: not an attempt to be a meat substitute, but rather a playful representation of the beauty of simple vegetables in the ironic form of processed meat. Lentils dominated their flavor, and as a huge fan of lentils, I enjoyed them ecstatically.
The truffled white beans and pancetta side was crafted beautifully. Simple, rustic, and bursting with hearty flavor; a mild accent of truffles; giddy reactions from both me and my date. With just one side dish and some simple sourdough bread, the meal rounded out to be surprisingly filling and satisfying. I normally overeat, and shamefully so - but at this restaurant I paid very little for the quality of food I enjoyed, and left with a thoroughly bedded appetite.
The service was just about immaculate: simple, courteous, straightforward, and attentive in the right ways. Staff seemed to be enthusiastic about the restaurant and excited to be a part of it, and were gushingly grateful for my compliments. I enjoyed the music and decor, and was impressed by the stocking of the bar given that this restaurant is located inside an outdoor shopping mall.
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