| rev:text
| - Overall experience was rather good. This is an impressive review for me to give a restaurant as I consider myself an avid foodie. It is rare for me to give an Italian restaurant a rave review, since I grew up eating Italian-American homemade meals.
The ambiance was nice, the buzz was slightly nosier than I would have liked but it was also not so much so to be considered bothersome. Their staff were attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable. I will say, it was a little strange to not receive a menu until after we were served water and bread sticks. I can actually say I've never been seated at a restaurant where it took 15 minutes to receive one. However, after munching on the delightful breadbasket (The star of which is definitely the Focaccia bread) left me excited for what was yet to come.
I enjoyed the affordable wine selection. We order an Italian table wine style Pinot Noir. It was delightful and we would order it again.
For an appetizer we shared the Capesante: grilled sea scallops, shaved fennel, red onion, orange and basil. My husband and I rarely go out to eat without ordering some sort of scallop dish. I can proudly say, their scallops had a lovely sear and were cooked perfectly inside.
For my entree, I ordered the Lidia's Pasta Trio which is their signature dish. Unlimited daily pasta selection served table-side. I must confess, I found the serving via table-side a little odd. If they served only my portion from the pan it would not have been as off. But thinking that others may have or will be served from that same dish that is inches away from the diner was a bit off. I had the linguine w/ walnut pesto which was average nothing too spectacular but good all around. The chicken, pork ravioli was interesting. Tastier that I expected. In fact, had I not tried my husband's entree I would have been more impressed with my ravioli. Lastly, it was served w/ eggplant penne in a red sauce. I was probably least underwhelmed by this last dish. But nevertheless, all three pastas far supersede the majority of Pittsburgh Italian restaurants.
I order this with the Caesar salad and choice of dessert. The salad was okay. Admittedly, I'm a hard sell with Caesar as I prefer to make it myself. Unless of course I am eating it from Emeril's (Las Vegas) which was the best Caesar I've ever eaten. Bygones.
For dessert, I ordered the Torta d'Ananas- ricotta and butter cake, caramelized pineapple, Amarena cherries, and coconut ice cream. If I had to guess, the cherries were present in syrup form perhaps on the top of the cake. As I did not see any cherries (or taste for that matter) their presence within the dish. Perhaps the syrup was used sparingly. Nevertheless, the dish was yummy. The coconut ice cream with the caramelized pineapple was the star. However, I do not think it was spectacular enough to order again.
My husband had the Ravioli di Cinghale: ravioli filled with braised wild boar in a rosemary infused sauce. This dish was amazing. I could not believe how delicious every single aspect of this dish was. The ravioli looked so fresh, it appear made to order. Significantly, far exceeded the quality present in the Trio I ordered. The rosemary infused sauce was one of the most incredible sauces I have EVER eaten. The wild boar itself, was absolutely to die for. My husband and I swore we would be back, simply for us both to eat this dish again. It is a MUST HAVE. Enjoy!
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