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| - Not what I remember... It's been a couple years since I last visited Denunzio's. Was hoping to refresh a memorable dining experience from the past. Unfortunately, this time did not sit as well as the last...
Pros:
Service was very prompt. Hostess and waitress were very friendly. Bread was fresh, yeasty, and crusty the way I love it. The somewhat "wet" salad was okay, but the perfect bleu cheese dressing that seemed homemade (with not too much bite) certainly made up for that.
Cons:
While the decor was nice, the wall where we were seated was stained with sauce(?) and was visited by a couple annoying fleas during our meal.
The spaghetti (in the spaghetti with meat sauce dish) was terribly overcooked with swelled noodles that looked like (and I'm told tasted like) they had been in water for quite some time.
The recommendation of my waitress was the gnocchi with filet tips and mushroom wine sauce for me. Sounded awesome. Advice: If you "...eat with your eyes, first..." as the saying goes, you should forget this dish. In addition to being not very visually appealing, the gnocchi were also over cooked and quite slimy. The under cooked mushrooms in the sauce were al dente -- with a "bite" that I wish had been present in my guest's spaghetti (and my gnocchi, too, for that matter). The scant "filet" tips were very dry, overcooked, and several pieces contained tough gristle -- not what I'd expect of filet -- tips or otherwise. The beef and wine sauce on the gnocchi was way too thick and had that raw flour after taste that the mild hint of wine was unable to mask.
Folks, I don't complain about food during my meal or send it back. And I never under-tip the wait staff. Perhaps that's wrong, but it's who I am. Rather, I simply don't go back. There are lots of restaurants in the greater Pittsburgh area. Denunzio's had a chance to win me over all over again, but these two meals were not what someone should prepare and serve at an Italian restaurant.
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