Our server, Giovanni was most informative; a real Italian (not the fake ones that try to speak the language). Sandi and I were the fake ones who tried to practice our Italian with him....va bene.
A basket of warm bread was served with the usual olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We tried not to finish the contents of the basket as we wanted to pace ourselves. For appetizer, we had the Calamari Fritti which was served with arrabbiata sauce. It was nice and warm when we got it. After squeezing some lemon on them we dipped them in the slightly spicy sauce. It was just beautiful e perfetto.
Two of the pasta dishes had to be ordered. They were the Spaghetti Alla Carbonara and the Fettuccine Bolognese. The verdict was unanimous as to which was better. The Carbonara made with egg yolk, pecorino romano cheese and smoked guanciale with fresh ground pepper took the cake. It was full of flavor; the guanciale was nice and crisp. We both didn't care too much for the Bolognese. It just didn't have enough flavor.
Giovanni asked us if we wanted to hear what they had to offer for desserts. Aside from the usual Tiramisu, Torta della Nonna, they had Panna Cotta. He described the panna cotta as having a burnt caramel sauce....this is all we heard and so we did order one to share. It was outstanding as it was very light and fluffy and the burnt caramel taste was oh so wonderful.
Bottega Romana is located at 215 Avenue I in Redondo Beach. California. They are open for lunch and dinner during the week, closed on Mondays and open for just dinner on Saturday and Sunday. If you stop by, ask for Giovanni who is an experienced server and probably should be the manager. He was more welcoming to the customers than the owners who just seemed to walk around and watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment