Ristorante Damiano (Boston)

I'm a sucker for Italian, so I was excited when my father suggested we try an authentic North End Boston Italian restaurant before the Celtics game.

Ristorante Damiano serves up small plates in a tiny intimate space. Readers, if you go with your parents, make sure they understand the small plate concept. My father could not get over the small portions!

As it was Restaurant Week, we were each able to order an appetizer and two small courses for the low price of $33. I ordered the baby eggplant, the pumpkin ravioli, and the mushroom risotto. My father chose the fried calamari, aglio olio, and the seabass. I absolutely loved, loved, loved the baby eggplant-- ovals of lightly-fried Japanese eggplant, fresh tomato sauce, Parmigiano cheese, and basil. Light and slightly crunchy and so, so flavorful. Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. Small plate alert! Only 2 pumpkin ravioli but it was definitely enough, because they were worse than unmemorable. The menu boasted flavors of sage, brown butter, and mascarpone cheese. But instead they tasted like they came out of the freezer. And like rubber. My kid sister could do better in a microwave. The risotto did not fare much better. Risotto should be creamy and should spread. Instead the rice was hard and sat in a stiff mound. But I'll give credit to the mushrooms: they were earthy and meaty. My father enjoyed his meal quite a bit more. The calamari was nothing special but the aglio olio and the seabass packed the flavor. I love garlic, and this pasta could leave you with bad breath for weeks. With a slight hint of tomato and olive oil, it was unbeatable. Perfectly flaky, the seabass oozed lemon. The taste of the fish reminded me on the wine tasting concept of connectedness-- which describes the bond between the wine and its land of origin. You could just tell the fish came from Boston.

We split a bottle of MacRostie Pinot Noir (from the Carneros Region of California). On the menu, the vintage was described as 2006. We received a 2007 vintage with no explanation. But the markup was not unreasonable ($35 for a $20 bottle). I thought it was an excellent wine (easily a 90 point +). Dark ruby red, tasted like cranberries and cherries. Very balanced.

Ultimately, I thought Damiano's barely missed the mark...much like the Celtics against the Bobcats. Somewhat expensive ($$$). 3.5 of 5 spoons!

15 Point Road (Portsmouth, RI)

15 Point Road is a beautiful, romantic restaurant, facing the idyllic Sakonnet River. Named the best of Portsmouth for 9 years in a row (2000-2008), it boasts a menu of seafood classics (think littlenecks, lobster bisque, and scrod) as well as steaks, chicken, and lamb. The quiet restaurant evoked childhood memories of the seashore at dusk. My mother and I opted for the price-fixe menu: $19 for a salad, a choice between 5 entrees, dessert, and a glass of wine (red, white, or rose) or beer. The waitress first presented a relatively standard salad-- greens, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Garden-fresh, but nothing exciting. I had the grilled salmon with Bearnaise sauce and my mother had the 1/2 roast chicken. Both came with crisp steamed broccoli and carrots as well as a baked potato. The salmon tasted bright and simple. But it was nothing spectacular. And the roast chicken was a bit dry but a nice, flavorful Madeira sauce accompanied it. The steamed vegetables were fantastic-- I never eat vegetables, and I was tempted to ask for seconds. They were buttery, but somehow still light. The dessert was easily my favorite part of the meal-- fluffy carrot cake, slathered with velvety cream cheese frosting. Easily one of the best pieces of carrot cake I've eaten. The meal was very good for the price, but I look forward to ordering from the menu next time.

Somewhat expensive ($$$) for on-menu; inexpensive for price-fixe. 3.5 of 5 spoons!

The Duck & Bunny (Providence, RI)

Hi friends! I'm expanding my horizon and blogging about any and all restaurants! So here's one for you, from Providence, Rhode Island.

The Duck and Bunny is a restaurant with a subtitle. It calls itself a "snuggery": a cosy (sic) and comfortable place. And D&B is both. Picture an intimate comfy tearoom with antiquey looking chandeliers and familiar pictures with a twist (faces are ducks! and bunnies!). D&B is famous for creative crepes and cupcakes. My mother and I ordered bacon wrapped dates, squash "crepolini," and a dessert crepe called the Angelina (blueberry blini, Des Nuages cheese, raspberry chocolate, and lemon zest). Everything was fabulous! The crepolinis were amazing-- think of a cross between a ravioli and a crepe, absolutely smothered in a brown butter, creamy sauce, dotted with dried cranberries. I'm still thinking about those crepolinis! The dessert crepe was also lip-smacking good-- actually two blinis (almost like a small buckwheat pancake), covered by blueberries and raspberry jam. Although the description said chocolate--I couldn't taste it. Des Nuages cheese (almost like ricotta cheese) topped the blinis. The bacon wrapped dates were good (but not great) and came on a bed of balsamic honey glaze. Ultimately, I prefer the dates I make (I stuff mine with honey goat cheese and use the bigger, Medjool dates).

D&B recommends wine pairings with each dish. Providence doesn't quite compare to the food Mecca that is Chicago. So the wine pairings were a very nice touch. My mother recommended I try a Portuguese wine called "vinhno verde." The name literally means "green wine" so I was a bit skeptical. But apparently green does not refer to the color but to the age of the grape (young). It was very nice-- extremely light, with a slight fizz. It's hard to describe the bubbles-- vinho verde doesn't really qualify as a sparkling wine, but there is a definite petillance there, almost like a spritzer. It tasted very fruity, especially paired with the dessert crepe-- it drew out the zest of the lemon. It's low in alcohol and inexpensive (it's a table wine) so I'm looking forward to drinking more!

D&B is snug and savory. And relatively inexpensive ($$). 4.5 of 5 spoons!

Al Tiramisu (DC)

I am so FULL. Today has been a very Italian day. And I am stuffed to the gills with carbs.

Al Tiramisu is the real deal. Tom (my boyfriend...what am I kidding, anyone who could possibly be reading this knows that's the case) & I ordered the parma & mozzarella, mushroom risotto, veal ragu & fettuccine, and of course, at a place called Al Tiramisu, we ordered tiramisu! Everything was delicious. The portions were so generous that I took leftovers home (a rarity for me). So much parma-- and they split it between Tom and I without us even asking. The risotto was exceptionally creamy (though maybe a bit too al dente). The ragu was super savory and flavorful. The tiramisu was probably the best I've had (absolutely dripping in liquor, but not in an overpowering way at all) and gorgeously plated. The food alone deserves five spoons, unfortunately the space is a bit small and cramped. We were pressed up against a really obnoxious table of 8 or so. They had obviously drank quite a few bottles of wine and were demanding that the stranger at the table behind them give a "birthday speech" after they found out it was her birthday. Some guy at the table kept loudly talking about reading Moby Dick (show off). And there was general mayhem with the pounding of the table.

Despite the cramped space and loud patrons, I definitely recommend this place. A word to the wise though-- wines by the glass are extremely limited. Most wines are bottle only.

Rating: 4 of 5 spoons!

Teatro Goldoni (DC)

My boyfriend and I came here for lunch. The food was surprisingly good, but the service was a bit sketchy.

We had the burrata & peppers, the amaretto butternut squash soup, the chicken "parmigiana", and the capellini pomodoro. The burrata was just okay-- it was a tad bit too salty and it came with this tasteless green cylindric creamy/gelatinous thingy on the side. I have no idea what it was. I thought it was some sort of liquid nitrogen thing but the texture wasn't hard at all. Maybe it was an olive spread or something? Unclear. Anyway, the burrata mozzarella portion was HUGE. Definitely no skimping on the portions! The soup was kind of uninspiring and lukewarm. But it did come with tiny duck filled raviolini, so that was winning. The entrees were much better-- my chicken "parmigiana" was as big as my face and topped with mozzarella cheese and EGGPLANT. I think the eggplant explains why "parmigiana" was in scare quotes. When I asked the waiter about the scare quotes, he said it was because there was a side of spinach included. But I think he was just confused. The pomodoro pasta was certainly above average and very filling.

Rating: 3 of 5 spoons!

Founding Farmers (DC)

Tonight was the third time I went to Founding Farmers. Some say three times a charm. But others say three strikes you're out. If we have to go with a cheesy adage, the latter wins.

Service: I called ahead and they say they will put me on the wait list and if I get there in 15-20 minutes they will seat me and my boyfriend. I get there in 23 minutes and the hostess asks me who I talked to. I say "Some guy, I don't remember his name." She explains that the guy "doesn't really work there." Hmmm, no idea why he is picking up the phone then... Anyway, she says maybe we will get a table in another 20 minutes. We actually got a table in 10. Despite the nasty-ish hostess, point one for Founding Farmers. Past that though the service was molasses slow-- appetizers came way before the drinks and the only thing that came in less than 10 minutes was the check.

Food: my boyfriend and I ordered fried green tomatoes, bacon wrapped dates, lentil & pork stew, and winter pasta. Nothing was spectacular. The fried green tomatoes proved Paula Dean wrong-- not everything fried is edible. The salt completely overpowered the juice of the tomato. The bacon wrapped dates were mushy and the bacon was limp, like they microwaved it. The lentil & pork stew came with a poached egg on top-- which sounds genius, but ends up being gross because the soup just tastes both burn-your-tongue hot and slippery cold. I thought the pork would be shredded-- instead it manifested itself as lumpy cubes. The winter pasta was decent, but ultimately bland and unexciting.

Drinks: I had the fraise fling-- strawberries, lychee, organic vodka, agave, and Prosecco. I couldn't really taste the lychee but nevertheless, this was one of the best cocktails I have ever had. It was like the fourth of July exploded in my mouth. It took me back to block parties and summer and everything wonderful.

Great place for drinks, but ultimately not worth the hype.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 spoons!

Introduction

Hi! My name is Marisa. Chances are if you are reading this, you know who I am and you are probably my mother (assuming she can figure out how blogs work). For those who know me, you are probably well aware that I LOVE food. I think my first word was "yum." I almost went to cooking school but everything I cook ends up charred or horribly raw. So those that can't cook, critique! This blog maps my culinary adventures in Chicago, DC, and probably Birmingham (assuming I do not find this project utterly pretentious and arrogant by the time I move there in August). I hope this blog will pique your interest-- buen provecho!