| rev:text
| - We came here this evening with high hopes and we came away expecting more.
We've been fans of the original Pomo's since moving to the Valley over nine years ago. The original was very intimate and a casual place to sit back and enjoy an evening meal.
The two replacements (downtown Phoenix & Scottsdale, and now Gilbert) were nice, but very commercialized and noisy. Did I mention they were noisy.
Well, Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante has replaced this Pomo's location. According to AZ Republic, "Italian-born business partners Nick DiLello and executive chef Giancarlo Stefanutto purchased the Glendale location of Pomo from their friend, Stefano Fabbri, on Feb. 1."
So with that backdrop we made a trip over to 59th Avenue and the 101 Loop to see this "new" Neapolitan pizza place, with some expectations of a great meal.
Sadly, expectations don't alway meet reality. And, like their other Restaurants, this place is noisy. Did I mention crowded too? Thankfully we had reservations and our wait was brief.
As the Republic article mentions, "the Bottega menu resembles a Pomo menu with a few name changes and tweaks here and there. Neapolitan pizzas include the Regina Margherita ($15.95) with imported buffalo milk mozzarella. Also look for house-made pastas, a lengthy list of antipasti and Italian desserts made from scratch also are served."
The three of us each ordered different menu items, so we got a good feel of Bottega strengths and weaknesses.
First their strengths. I absolutely loved the Carpaccio. It was $13.95 and was topped with arugula and shaved Parmesan (see photo). Also good, was the Tagliatelle Bolognese for $15.95. The pasta was wonderful and tasted homemade, but it did lacked that classic beefy, bolognese taste.
On the negative side was their pizza. It was very watery and the toppings slid off as you picked it up. The tomato sauce was also tasteless, with no strong distinguishing flavor. Sorry.
The other downer was the Calzone. On the plus side it was huge (see photo), but the so called imported Italian ham was non-existent and overall a puffy, doughy miss.
We did like our wine choices of Merlot and Sangiovesse and thought they were fairly priced. Our meal for three came to a pricey $98, less a Yelp coupon of $9.95; or $86.29 including taxes but not gratuities.
We would probably come back for Happy Hour, and eat something light in the bar area. So, Three Stars "A-Okay".
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