This is not ostrich! These are Italian-style oysters on the half shell with shredded fresh spinach and smoked pancetta cream sauce. The four oysters I got were served on rock salt for stability, and they were garnished with two slices of orange. The texture came from the oysters and the spinach, while the sauce was creamy and just a touch smokey. As far as bar food goes, these were exceptional.
Location: Enzo's Bistro and Bar, 70030 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, California. Date: October 15, 2022.
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It was only a matter of time before these delectable Italian rice balls showed up on my blog, and here they are. These were a happy hour special consisting of three risotto balls stuffed with fontina, reggiano, and mozzarella cheeses. The balls were then lightly breaded and deep fried. They were served on marinara sauce with drizzles of pesto. The aroma of the dish was very appetizing, the exterior of the rice balls was crispy, the cheese inside was gooey, and the acid in the tomato sauce tied it all together. I was a happy camper.
Location: Enzo's, 70030 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, California. Date: October 8, 2022. I've known fantasia as a terrible dish from the 1970s composed of jello, whipped cream, and marshmallows that was served, if memory serves me right, as a salad. While that was a culinary horror, my chicken fantasia was anything but. It was sauteed chicken pieces in a creamy garlic and white wine sauce with mushrooms and artichoke hearts. It was served over your choice of pasta, and I chose angel hair. The pasta was cooked perfectly; the thin strands of angel hair were still al dente. The chicken was nicely browned but still moist. I could taste the wine in the sauce, and the artichoke hearts were a nice touch. The dish was not too salty so I could safely add some grated parmesan which they brought to the table along with the salt and pepper. This was a savory umami dish along with a hint of sour. The garlic bread could have been more crispy, but it was very flavorful. There's no shying away from garlic at this place! I used some of the bread to sop up leftover sauce, and that was my dessert.
Location: Nicolino's, 440 South El Cielo Road, Palm Springs, California. Date: March 19, 2022. My sister sold her house in Washington State, and her real estate agent gave her a gift certificate to Miro's restaurant in Palm Springs. I've always wanted to eat there, and she invited me. I ordered the vegetarian spin on the classic Bolognese. It consisted of French green lentils, mushrooms, mirepoix, herbs, garlic, tomato paste, and sherry vinegar served over pappardelle pasta and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. I could see and taste the lentils but the mushroom seemed a bit lost to me, though it could have contributed to the meaty texture. It was a decent dish for sure, but for me the side dish of cabbage slaw with garlic stole the show. It was the perfect acidity, and the garlic flavor built in my mouth as I ate. It was fresh and crunchy. My sister ordered the branzino fish with potato gnocchi, and I got to taste it. That's probably what I'll order next time; in fact, there might be numerous next times at this place.
Location: Miro's Restaurant, 1555 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 18, 2022. The homemade sausage at Mario's comes sweet or spicy; naturally, I chose spicy. It turned out to be very spicy, but the sweet fennel in it came through nicely. The dish came with al dente red and green bell pepper slices along with onion slices and whole button mushrooms. This is my favorite dish at Mario's; it's spicy and very savory. It's served with spaghetti in marinara sauce, and it was garnished with chopped parsley. A friend of mine invited me tonight, and we were served by the owner's cute son, Lane. He turned out to be more than just a pretty face: he lit the fire pit for us outside, served us very competently, and he helped to create a fun environment. My friend and I lingered over wine, and it was one of those perfect restaurant experiences.
Location: Mario's Italian Cafe, 425 South Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: December 20, 2021. Lido is the seaside neighborhood of Rome, so it stands to reason that in culinary terms it would mean a dish from the sea. At Castelli's, it's an appetizer composed of rings of baby squid, tiny bay scallops, and pieces of baby lobster, all perfectly cooked and tossed in a light vinaigrette composed of white wine, fresh lemon, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. There was some finely chopped red bell pepper in the mix, as well as some finely chopped green herbs. The garnish on top was a butterflied shrimp, also perfectly cooked, and on the side were two clams in their shell on a small bed of shredded lettuce. The dish was very fresh, with no fishy taste or aroma. The squid was chewy but tender, if that makes sense; in other words, you did have to chew a bit before it melted in your mouth. This dish, which I enjoyed outdoors by a heater under the light of the almost full moon, exhibited the colors of the Italian flag: red from the bell pepper, white from the seafood, and green from the lettuce and the sprinkled herbs.
Location: Castelli's, 73098 Highway 111, Palm Desert, California. Date: December 17, 2021. The word Florentine in Italian cooking means that spinach is used, and this pasta dish used a number of ingredients that I love: spinach, mushrooms, pine nuts, cream sauce, and angel hair pasta. The fresh spinach leaves were just wilted, not at all mushy. The pine nuts were roasted and provided some crunch. The sliced mushrooms added umami, the savory taste. The thin angel hair pasta was cooked perfectly, and there was plenty of light cream sauce. The dish was served with garlic bread, and I'll never wrap my head around bread served with pasta, but in this case there was enough sauce to soak the bread into, and I love soaking bread in sauce. Over all, this dish was light, fresh, and not over salted, which I really appreciated.
Location: Nicolino's Italian, 440 El Cielo Road, Palm Springs, California. Date: October 23, 2021. This pasta is handmade in the shape of little ears, and it was served with rapini, escarole, fennel sausage, lemon, chili, and Pecorino. The pasta was wonderfully chewy, the fennel sausage permeated the dish, the rapini and escarole greens provided some freshness and a touch of bitterness, and the rapini stems provided some crunch. There was a little heat from the red chili slices and some creaminess and umami from the cheese. The sauce appeared to be a little of the pasta cooking liquid, and that's where the lemon was. I enjoyed this pasta dish with an Italian Peroni beer which was light but hoppy. It went really well with the saltiness of the sausage and the bitterness of the greens. I initially ordered a giant ravioli, but they were out of them, and that's how I arrived at this fabulous dish.
Location: Davanti Enoteca, 1655 India Street, San Diego, California. Date: July 29, 2021. Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made of cream, sugar, and gelatin put into some kind of mold to create its shape. It can be flavored with almost anything; in my case, it was flavored with mango and had a pineapple topping. It sat on a butter cookie. It was fruity, creamy, exotic, and not too sweet. It went perfectly with an unsweetened double espresso (the espresso being very good here). While I'm not a huge dessert fan, I do always seem to find interesting ones.
Location: Figaro Dessert Cafe, 3011 University Avenue, San Diego, California. Date: July 22, 2021. Spaghetti Carbonara, when properly made, is one of my favorite pasta dishes, so when I saw carbonara pizza on a menu, I took notice. I really wasn't expecting too much, but the pizza I got emulated the pasta dish really well. The pizza came with a crème fraiche sauce, speck (Italian bacon), asparagus pieces, an egg, mozzarella cheese, and black pepper. This place has a wood burning mosaic ceramic tile pizza oven, which means it works well and looks good. There was good char on the outer crust. You often see hot spots, but here the char was even all over. The pizza was very moist. The broken egg yolk was firm on top but still a little runny below, and the white of the egg had run over most of the pizza but it was nice and moist as a lot of it was covered in melted cheese. I could taste the egg, and the black pepper added a nice accent. There was some welcome crunch and freshness from the asparagus and some nice saltiness from the speck. The crust, even with the char, was soft and chewy like the al dente spaghetti would have been.
Location: Caffe Calabria, 3933 30th Street, San Diego, California. Date: July 17, 2021. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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