Italian dinner disappointment

Yesterday was our 46 anniversary. We went to a locally owned Italian restaurant, which we have gone to for special occasions many times over the years. Their menu has never changed, but last nights dinner was probably our last visit there.

Appetizer plate that comes with the dinner is: A small plate of a very flavorful tuna mix, olives, pickled peppers, very thinly sliced salami, and jack cheese. Warm bread is served with butter. It irks me that they serve the bread only partially cut, because most folks pick up the entire bread loaf to rip off the slice of bread. Last night the bread was harder than usual to rip off.

We ordered a Caesar Salad. The work station is brought to our table and this happens: Garlic and anchovy are cut with fork and knife. EVOO and vinegar are added, with an egg yolk. The whole egg had been resting in a bowl of room temp. water. Parmesan was added, and the entire mix was beat with a fork. The Romaine lettuce is sitting in a wooden bowl with Parmesan on top. The liquid is added to the bowl and tossed. More Parmesan added. They serve us our salads and ask if want Parmesan. Romaine was warm, salad was so rich, we could only eat a portion of it. The salad serving filled up the entire large salad plate and was piled very high.

Next came two white oven dishes, one with Cannelloni. the other with Manicotti. Gene and I ate half, then switched. Both dishes were over cooked, and had black, burned edges all around the dish, although no burning on the food itself.

I ordered Veal Piccatta. It was very nice, but barely warm. Ziti was served on the side, with almost raw broccoli and zucchini. Gene ordered a fillet steak. It was served cold.

We declined dessert. They brought us a plate of whole zucchini, bell pepper, and eggplant with a lite candle in the center. We were told to blow out the candle. They sang a Happy Anniversary song and gave us a small glass of Kahlua.

The staff were very nice and attentive. We did not complain, because we did enjoy just sitting and talking with each other, in a room that was almost too dark. I forgot to mention that we could hardly read the menus, because of the low light and the menu print was pink on a very cream colored paper.

We won't be going back...for a long while. I hated the warm lettuce, with the excess of Parmesan, too much pasta, the ugliness of the burnt sauce on the white dishes, etc.

[Jenise]

Karen, it's a real shame to have a disappointing meal on your anniversary. That is, you sit there on your night off from cooking and think over and over again: I can do this better. Sad but it happens to all great cooks. Congratulations on not letting it ruin your evening and even more, FAR more, congratulations on your long and successful relationship.

But I have to tell you something, at the risk of sounding too pedantic because this wasn't your complaint at all: but an Italian restaurant that would serve Jack cheese and caesar salad would have a hard time keeping me as a customer. Both demonstrate that they're not holding themselves to any standard of authenticity and quality but are instead both bowing to popularity (the ubiquitous caesar) and a lower denominator (serving a common American cheese instead of something Italian)--that is, trying to please most of the people most of the time. Big portions for big nonfussy eaters, but no attention to detail. At least they made the Caesar tableside, though, I'll give them huzzahs for that. Nothing worse than a caesar made somewhere out of your sight with some thick, creamy bottled industrial dressing and served soggy.

Karen, it's a real shame to have a disappointing meal on your anniversary. That is, you sit there on your night off from cooking and think over and over again: I can do this better. Sad but it happens to all great cooks. Congratulations on not letting it ruin your evening and even more, FAR more, congratulations on your long and successful relationship.

But I have to tell you something, at the risk of sounding too pedantic because this wasn't your complaint at all: but an Italian restaurant that would serve Jack cheese and caesar salad would have a hard time keeping me as a customer. Both demonstrate that they're not holding themselves to any standard of authenticity and quality but are instead both bowing to popularity (the ubiquitous caesar) and a lower denominator (serving a common American cheese instead of something Italian)--that is, trying to please most of the people most of the time.

Ditto the Kahlua.

Whilst I'd be very happy to go to an Italian 'fusion' restaurant or one where they were very adventurous & hence not traditional, it strikes me this place has tipped over into homely. It also seems they may have had a problem with timing and/or plate warmers. Maybe they were struggling to adapt to the new menu and hence that may explain some of the dishes coming out cold (i.e. they weren't sure of their timings).

Either way, a real shame for an anniversary meal and in such a situation I'd be tempted to agree with my partner to go out for another meal an IT would be the anniversary meal to celebrate in style.

regards

Ian

Sorry to hear that, Karen. I like Ian's solution, though.

Karen that must have been so disappointing for you both. The full catastrophe except your ability to enjoy each others company.
Re the caeser salad, ohmigod that is one of those dishes that has been and continues to be abused beyond belief.
At least you got something vaguely like!
Whilst food, like language, is a constantly evolving thing there is no excuse for some of the travesties foist upon us.
Some dishes are inherently themselves and should be respected as such. I rarely if ever order Caesar salad, or spaghetti carbonara for example because the execution/content is rarely consistent with what I believe the dish to be.

You mentioned that you were served ziti with your main course after already having had pasta entrees (hmm entree means beginning to me and main to you ) I find that odd. We ate at an Italian restaurant in the USA and after the obligatory salad, we had our main course of veal which came (to us unexpectedly) witha side dish of spaghetti! Is this usual? So okay we were in Alamagordo (and we had a pleasant evening). And our delightful Italian momma brought the red wine to us to open, thankfully,because it was ICY COLD, so we just sent her for a RT bottle, opened it and enjoyed. I don't think they got a lot of wine drinkers!
Life is wonderful, food is good, and
Vive la differance.
regard from a lurker outing
Barb

[Jenise]

we had our main course of veal which came (to us unexpectedly) with a side dish of spaghetti! Is this usual?

Not to answer for Karen, but I think it's fairly common in what you might call "California Immigrant Italian" which is practically a cuisine unto itself. What is uncommon--at least I've never seen it before--would be to get a primi pasta course and then pasta again with a meat course.

You mentioned that you were served ziti with your main course after already having had pasta entrees (hmm entree means beginning to me and main to you ) I find that odd. We ate at an Italian restaurant in the USA and after the obligatory salad, we had our main course of veal which came (to us unexpectedly) witha side dish of spaghetti! Is this usual? So okay we were in Alamagordo (and we had a pleasant evening). And our delightful Italian momma brought the red wine to us to open, thankfully,because it was ICY COLD, so we just sent her for a RT bottle, opened it and enjoyed. I don't think they got a lot of wine drinkers!

Italian in Alamagordo? No wonder. It probably was like Mexican restaurants when we moved to Minnesota. At least, you didn't have mosquitoes.

Thanks for your insights. Since we have gone there for years, knew the papa from Italy, who has now passed, and now know the sons who are running the show, we kept quiet. The menus have never changed, but the food was not as good. I hate warm salads, and when I added up the petty small things that were wrong with the meal, it just did not seem worth making an issue about it. The authenticity of the cheese, etc. did not bother me. We've lived in Redding for 46 years and about the only truly authentic food you will get here is Mexican and then only for a short time after opening the new restaurant.

[Robin Garr]

By the way, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Karen!

Thank you Robin!

Sorry to hear how the restaurant messed up. Seems like they just don't care how they perform in hard times.

Anyway, from the sounds of your menu, this is not an Italian restaurant, but Italian-American.