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| - I was pretty disappointed when I heard that Eddie 'n Eddie was being replaced by a casual Italian concept. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been out for Italian in the last five years so I had pretty much written off this place by default. So what got my butt in their seats? Once again, Groupon was the catalyst. My wife purchased a pair of them ($11 for $20) so off we went.
I'll break it down real quick like before I dive into my usual copiously verbose rant:
The food was actually pretty good. The service, alas, was not. Now, on with the show.
We arrived somewhere around 6:45pm on a Friday evening. Not our normal MO, that's for sure. While not terribly crowded, there was a solid attendance. We actually had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated. Strange seeing as how we could clearly see several empty tables from our vantage point by the front door. Anyway, the greeting was friendly enough so let's continue.
Our table, a two top crammed between two other two-tops, was a bit close for comfort but we managed. BTW, the table was miniature with barely enough room for the doodads they've got setting on them. By the time you work in the olive oil container, the bread basket, your silverware, side plates and your drinks you've got pretty limited real estate. More about that later.
Our server approached, appearing a bit flustered by the business of the place, and proceeded to provide us with some fresh-baked focaccia bread while pouring out some olive oil onto a plate and sprinkling some pepper on it. Unnecessary showmanship. I'll say one thing, though, that bread was frickin' fantastic. Soft, warm, salty, herby; I did my best to resist but failed miserably.
Now what about that service. Two words: slow and inattentive. It took forever between courses, between drink refills, you name it. I don't mind a wait when things are busy but this was noticeably long. Another thing that really bugged me was that our plates weren't cleared in a timely fashion. We finished our app and the empty plate sat there. Our salads were delivered, we finished those, and now three empty plates sat. When our entrees were delivered the person that dropped the off (not our server) actually had to push our other plates out of the way with them to make room. C'mon, man. Really? We were positioned right by the kitchen, plenty of employees could see our table and nobody bothered. Big strike against them here. Too bad, really, because the food was another story.
FYI:
Quite a few things on the menu come in whole and half sizes. Order the half sizes, trust me. They're still huge. The half-sized salads are still as big as your head and plenty for two.
Rene Boucher Calamari - Your traditional breaded and fried variety. Well-seasoned, a slight touch of heat and the lemon aioli was a nice dipping sauce. The marinara was also pretty tasty.
Caesar Reggiano - Your bare-bones Caesar served with a couple of croutoned (very salty) fococcia slices and a sprinkling of cheese. The dressing was pretty bland and lacked acid. Since our plate from the calamari was still on our table we corrected this error with the lemon wedge.
Pizzeria House - This salad has become standard fare on just about everyone's menu. Romaine, field greens, cran-raisins, sunflower seeds, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. I thought it was pretty good, veg was fresh, dressing wasn't overwhelming.
Corti Bucati - Spiral pasta, shredded roasted pork shoulder, cremini mushrooms, white wine, tomato, and lemon ricotta. My wife really liked this dish. The dollop of ricotta was fresh and tart and the pasta, made in house, was cooked perfectly. Big chunks of tomato and fresh basil added to the heartiness.
Twin Filets - I was in a red meat mood and this was done right. Two small beef medallions sautéed with cremini mushrooms and cherry tomatoes accompanied by a brown sauce and Italian roasted potatoes. The meat was tender, juicy, and cooked a perfect medium. The potatoes were tasty, with plenty of herbs and onions but the various sized wedges led to some inconsistent levels of doneness. I still managed to polish off every last bit.
So herein lies my dilemma. They tasted a solid four stars, no doubt, but glaring service errors couldn't save them from the inevitable mediocrity of three-stardom. We'll be back because we still have another Groupon to use but I honestly have much lower expectations for our return visit.
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