Teatro Goldoni

Spinach Cappellaci
Buffalo Mozzerella

Veal Chop
Roasted Salmon

"2009 Rammy Award for Favorite Restaurant and was named DC's Best Italian Restaurant by Washingtonian and Esquire Magazines." All these awards and top reviews, I thought this restaurant was a perfect place to take my husband for his birthday. While the ambiance, service and cleanliness are very important when going out to eat, lets face it the food is most important and their food disapointed me big time!

So this time my review will start with the food:

We started out with some fried calamari and buffalo mozzerella as an appetizer. The calamari was bland and needed the tarter sauce to add flavor, this would be the theme of the night...no flavor. The presentation of the food was excellent and beautiful. The calamari had fried red peppers and zuccini mixed in the basket which was fun and different, but the zuccini had more flavor then the calamari. On the plus side it did taste fresh and was not chewy like some calamari i have had. The mozzerella was something new for me, i'll admit but the texture and flavors of it were not pleasing to me. This was the one dish that had a little too much going on. The candied cherry tomatoes, balsamic gelatin and eggplant on top of the mozzerella overpowered the cheese and gave it an abrupt flavor. I ate one piece and did not want any more.

I chose to order the Spinach Cappellaci which was under the pasta section, (pictured above) it was 4 small pasta's filled with butternut squash which was sweet and very different. It was a nice soft fresh pasta dish but tasted more like a desert with the sweetness of the butternut squash inside. Next I had the roasted salmon which was topped with crabcake and laid on top of sauteed spinach. The spinach was crunchy and tasted slightly burnt. the salmon needed salt and pepper and the crab cake had pieces of shell in it. King of like when you buy the cheap grocery store brand of crab meat insted of the phillips crab meat to make crab cakes at home. So i was picking crab shells out of my mouth. My husbands veal chop looked gorgeous and huge. It also was bland and needed some seasoning and flavor. It also had alot of fat on it and was slightly tough and chewy.

After dinner i had a taste for something sweet to get the other flavors out of my mouth, but the desert menu consisted of fruit, gellato and nothing that looked worth my time.

My main complaint about Teatro Goldoni was the lack of flavor in the food, obviously but I was also unhappy that it was not an italian restaurant. Nothing about it made me think italian. There was techno music playing, there were african masks on the wall for decoration. I can see a spin on traditional itialian but this place was just confused. To be fair i will mention the service was excellent, prompt and friendly. they even took the mozzerella off our bill when i told them i hated it (not in those words:) and the prices were reasonable for the dishes they offered. The drinks were also delicious and strong...maybe you can visit the bar for happy hour 5-9pm mon-fri...we couldn't get happy hour prices sitting in the dining room (seriously).

So i think the best thing i learned from this experience is that its best to go off word of mouth to find a good place to eat (like restaurant rundown:) and not off top 100 list or places that have won awards or rankings from the Washingtonian!

2 out of 5 stars for this place..and I won't be going back no thank you

Best and Worst of Bahston!

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Bostons Best and worst
I recently spent a month in Boston, MA. There are many restaraunts with awards and certificates posted all over there walls, which can lure you in to eat. But let me tell you those awards aren’t always the best way to measure a restaurants performance. 1st on the Best list is Café Pompeii, Italian restaurant in the North End of Boston. 282 Hanover St. Boston, MA 02113. Delicious pasta that tasted like it was freshly made in the back. Try the lobster ravioli or the tortellini. They also have a great Sangria. Next on the best list is Modern Pastry shop, 257 Hanover St, Boston MA, right across the street from Pompeii. While the line wraps around the corner for Mikes pastry, the locals recommended Modern and they were right. The cannoli’s are fresh and delicious. The next place I would list in my top places is the Hard Rock café, 22 Clinton st Boston, MA 02109. I have never eaten at a hard rock so I’m not sure if they all are this good. But the food and the drinks were excellent! Try the Hurricane, or the x-rated tea. I wanted to take home their bartender! The food was fresh and delicious. Even the appetizer trio, didn’t taste frozen at all and they were the first place with good cold slaw. The atmosphere was fun and clean which is a plus, and service was great. Next for something a little different a Moroccan restaurant. Tangierino, 83 Main st. Charlestown, MA 02129 (close to bunker hill). WONDERFUL!!!! Romantic atmosphere, great Moroccan décor, lighting, belly dancer. I tried a drink that was Moroccan, a blueberry something martini…would not recommend it. But the food was great! The lamb was tender and a great balance of flavor. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and flavorful. As an appetizer we tried the shrimp which was also flavorful and plump. The entree’s were reasonably priced $30 for duck and $33 for lamb. The appetizers were a little expensive $15 for 4 shrimp. Before the entree’s they bring out bread with a hummus spread and olives, different and a great blend of flavors. Tangierino also offers a lounge and hookah bar downstairs. Try visiting the shops in Faneuil Hall for some great cheap eats. Everything from sandwich shops to Lobster rolls (MUST TRY!!!!).
Pics 1-3from Pompeii

Pic 4 Modern Cannoli and Crème Puff
Now for the Bad Boston. No Name Restaurant 15 ½ Fish Pier, Boston MA. 02210. No Name was recommended to me by a local, but I do not know why, maybe they didn’t like me? I arrived with a party of about 8 people for lunch and we just walked in looking lost, like maybe we are supposed to seat ourselves? Finally a server came up to us, he didn’t speak good English and was not very helpful. The tables had some small paper cups on them and the waiter brought out some water in pitchers. The menu consisted of maybe 10 items about 1 page, I kept flipping it over to see if there was more. One item on the menu was scod…everyone pulled out their phones to google what that was because the waiter was not around for us to ask. When he returned he said that was fish and chips…. On to the food. I ordered fried shrimp and a friend next to me had fried scallops. They were obviously frozen. They tasted like the kind you buy frozen in the grocery store and stick in the over, but worse. The shrimp was on top of the fries which was on top of the cole slaw all squished on the plate and a side of the greenest tarter sauce I’ve ever seen. Another in my party ordered the seafood chowda, which was yellow because of all the grease in the bowl. She couldn’t even swallow her spoonful and sent it back. While this place was known for their fish I tried the broiled salmon and it was greasy and mushy. This place is Must Not SEE, for Boston, stay away from the No Name.
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