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| - I have to admit I make fun of Food Network chefs on a regular basis. I was pretty certain Giada was employed due to her giant smile and well... Chest.
I was dead wrong. 100% completely wrong.
We had the tasting menu. It turned out to be a little different than the menu we had looked at online prior to dining, but I have to say even with the modifications, it was basically within the top 3 meals of my life, and that includes 5 meals at Grant Achatz restaurants.
The antipasti platter was great. The focaccia in the cast iron ramekins that comes with the bread plate is something I want to steal and make myself. Sadly, we didn't get any signed menus with recipes like others have reported.
The pasta course was slightly lacking ONLY because I didn't think the quality of the pasta itself was on par with anything I'd eat in Italy. To be honest, the pasta was not al dente. It was crunchy. It could have used an extra minute or two of boiling, and I can almost guarantee it wasn't homemade (Edit: The chef reached out to assure me it was homemade). BUT the sauces were out of this world. I didn't even realize the Bolognese was vegetarian. It was AMAZING. The lemon cream sauce on the spaghetti was so good, I again want to steal it and make it myself.
The main courses were sublime. My rack of lamb and my brother's filet mignon were expertly prepared and couldn't possibly have been any more perfect. They were supremely high-quality cuts of meat, and they were done amazingly well. Surprisingly, the best dish of the night was one of the substitutions we didn't expect. It was the side of creamy polenta with sausage. After I tasted it, I almost wanted to tell my brother it was bad so I could finish the entire family style portion. No sharing.
We apparently got a special treat as far as desserts were concerned. I think it's because our reservation was for 10PM, and we managed to get the last tasting menu of the night. There wasn't a dessert cart to speak of, but they came over and plopped down a platter of SIXTEEN DESSERTS (2 each of 8 different types), explained what each one was, and said "Enjoy!" and walked away. We expected to be able to pick a few. We ended up getting all sixteen with whatever we didn't finish packed up in a nice little box to go.
I want the recipe for those ricotta cookies too. The second I tasted them, I knew I'd had them before... From a little Sicilian grandma who has a tiny patisserie in England. I was immediately transported to Italy, and that's a REALLY tough thing to do, as I'm a hugely critical judge of Italian food in America. I actually found myself trying to find little pieces of the cookies that were stuck in my teeth just so I could keep tasting them, and that's something I've never done with any food ever.
In all, it was an amazing experience from start to finish. I'm not sure if Giada reads any of these reviews, but if she does, I just want to apologize for everything I've said about her in jest. Now the things I've said about Guy Fieri on the other hand; I'll defend those until the day I die.
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