Tonight four of us went to Di Pescara for dinner. We thought it was quite good - not earthshattering, but decent and enjoyable.
We were seated in their contemporary-designed dining room. The decor was pleasant, in various tones of brown, although the tables were a bit too close together to be comfortable (squeezing between tables to be seated was a chore).
They brought a basket of decent, warm Italian bread and also multi-grain crackers. There was a plate of olive oil on the table (probably poured when my dining companions arrived before I did). No butter, though, although they were happy to bring that too when requested.
It took a little while for the server to take our order. She was actually helpful, friendly, and attentive throughout the meal; it appeared that they may have been slightly short on waitstaff, because as far as we could see, she was working hard. The restaurant was full when we arrived at 6:00, and was starting to empty by around 8:00-8:30.
We started with appetizers. We had the "calamari marinara". These were cooked perfectly, neither overcooked nor undercooked, so they were very moist, not at all chewy. They were
very lightly coated with the marinara sauce, which gave them only a subtle tomatoey flavor, which seemed just right. Delicious. The only downside was that it was not quite as hot as it should have been when it arrived at the table (not cold, but not overly hot either) - again, perhaps a result of an overworked waitstaff. We also had the "baked garlic shrimp". These were cooked properly too. They were served in an escargot dish (with holes designed for individual escargot) and the preparation style was similar. These were good too, although rather conventional in style. Another member of our party had the New England clam chowder and said it was good.
We had three different mains. Two of us each had the steamed Alaskan king crab legs, which were on special (they're $29.95 Monday-Thursday, $39.95 Friday-Sunday). These were excellent. Their serving style made them unusually easy to eat. Although the legs were served in the shells, the spiny stuff on the outside of the shells had been removed or smoothed down so they were easy to handle. And instead of the legs being split the length of the leg, as many places do, at Di Pescara they actually removed a slit (maybe 1/4" wide) the length of the leg, which made it even easier. The other thing they did to make them easy to eat was, instead of serving the parts of the legs that are most difficult to eat - the "knuckle" and the skinny tips - they put that crab meat loose in a dish to eat. Accompaniments were corn on the cob, redskin potatos, and a pretty good cole slaw.
One of us had a nightly special of potato crusted halibut, served on a bed of spinach, which was good, flavorful and moist. Another had the "sesame crusted Chilean sea bass - herbed rice". This was also good, also flavorful and moist, although the crust was rather soggy. (If you want a really great Chilean sea bass, I recommend the one at
Stoney River.)
We had several desserts. Many of the desserts were available in three sizes: "one bite", "two bites", and "full", with varying prices - a very clever and welcome idea. We had the "bites" of their mascarpone cheesecake, and each "bite" was about a fourth of a generous sized slice. The cheesecake was good, although it was really a rather conventional cheesecake, i.e. the mascarpone really didn't make it particularly distinctive. We had a "full" slice of the "chocolate mousse pie"; this was okay, although based on the consistency of the dish, it would have been better labeled as "chocolate pudding pie". We also had the "bite of the night" which was a small chocolate-coconut-macaroon cookie that was unremarkable.
The final dessert was a special and it was outstanding, for me the very best dish of the entire meal. They called it a "strawberry tiramisu" although this name, too, is somewhat misleading. Instead of soaking the lady fingers with Kahlua or espresso, they were soaked with chambord, so there was no coffee taste to the dessert - thank goodness! In between the layers was a light mascarpone pastry cream, and it was topped with slices of fresh strawberries. As noted, this dessert was superb, just delicious.
Overall, as previously stated, our meal was very good. Some of the dishes (the crab legs and the "tiramisu") were outstanding, while others were generally pretty good, and nothing was bad.
The check, including moderate wine and tax, but before tip, was $226.xx for the four of us. (You can view item prices on the pdf version of the menu on their website.)
I like to rate restaurants according to the following scale:
4 stars - Wow, Incredible (worth traveling long distances to dine)
3 stars - Very Good (worth recommending to others)
2 stars - Just Okay (worth visiting if you're in the neighborhood)
1 star - Disappointing, seriously flawed (worth forgetting)
0 stars - Dreadful (worth warning others away)
By this scale, I would give Di Pescara 2.5 stars.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
. I had the "meat ragu" pasta the one time I've eaten there. We went a few weeks after they were open, and overall I thought it was good... pricey, typically over-hyped LEYE food, but not bad, haven't been there since though.