My husband and I have gone on a couple of dates here. My memory of the garlic bread starter was what took us back this time; unfortunately, it wasn’t as I remember it. As you enter the restaurant, you can go straight to their small bar area (and grab take-out, which seems to be a large business for them) or go up a few steps to a seating area. The tables are close together and the restaurant is pretty loud – not the romantic atmosphere of Valle Cucina.
I ordered the Ortolana pasta dish – broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms sautéed in olive oil with garlic light marinara sauce - with wheat pasta. It sounded good – vegetables, pasta, garlic marinara sauce. Unfortunately, the ingredients did not come together in the dish. The light marinara sauce was very oily and I think that the only thing marinara about it was the tomatoes in the vegetable portion of the dish. The vegetables were okay, but they kind of soggy – and the spinach was clumped together. Maybe it was my misunderstanding of the dish – but it sounded good when I read it. I had a salad with the dish, but it was just a standard pizzeria one – lettuce, large tomatoes, and a packet of dressing. The garlic bread that comes with the meal was sitting in olive oil and caked with garlic – even though it didn’t taste very “garlicky”. Just an odd meal all around.
