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| - I almost never write any reviews but felt like I have to with this one - I just went to Scarpetta for winterlicious. Prior to my dinner I've read quite a few mediocre to negative reviews about this place, however I still wanted to give it a try, and I'm so very glad I did!! The key to an amazing dinner at this restaurant is to stick with the signature dishes - i.e. the polenta and the tomato & basil spaghetti. I thought the spaghetti was the most outstanding dish of the night - tastes as good as the best pasta restaurant I went to when I was in Rome, and better than many mediocre restaurants in Italy! I've been to many Italian restos around the city, including Enoteca Sociale and Campagnolo, but trust me, this pasta is the BEST EVER! Originally I thought its silly that they charge $24 for a plate of plain pasta, but after tasting it, I was thinking that I'll definitely come eat this dish again and pay full price, so I can re-live the Rome dining experience without flying there! The polenta was also amazing, with a very strong truffle aroma and was extremely smooth, however I still thought the spaghetti was more outstanding since most food would taste really good if you put enough black truffles in it. For dessert I tried both the chocolate cake and the panna cotta. The chocolate cake was so extremely rich and the sweetness was just right. However, I enjoyed the panna cotta more that night since the two other dishes I had were pretty heavy and the panna cotta was a light refreshing dessert to balance out the meal. My companion had the branzino and the short ribs.. the short ribs were extremely tender but the meat itself was lacking some flavor. The branzino was very good, I especially loved the crispy skin, but the sides that came with it were a bit too heavily salted. To conclude, my biggest tip is to stick with the polenta and the spaghetti - I can't wait to eat those dishes again!
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