Knowing that if the food were to suck, at least we could get sauced on the cheap, a ladyfriend and I decided to brave the crowds at Quartino last night.
The food lived up to the mixed reviews above: so-so salumi (dry, brittle sopresatta (probably sliced many, many hours before; and waaaaay too thin), double-plus pepper crusted duck proscuitto (at first we thought they'd given us speck by mistake; still, the fat was melty and dreamy)); phoned-in broccoli rabe (w/ tomatoes tossed in to add color to compensate for the lack of flavor); hearty, addictive fava bean and speck ravioli (this dish put the whole 'sharing' vibe on hold). We also had the veal meatballs with rasins and some other stuff. I let my dining companion eat all of these since a) she really liked them, and b) I ate more than my share of the ravioli and, after licking the last drop of sauce off the plate (while swatting off aggressive busboys), felt profoundly guilty for doing so. I think the pastas and warm small plates are the winners here. The olives and pickled veggies were good, as well.
Does anyone else find their excessive use of the EVOO abbreviation throughout the
menu a wee bit annoying? Besides the trixie-ness of the
abbreviation, like, isn't this a fairly silly/obvious ingredient to disclose on a menu, sort of like telling us that the spaghetti was boiled in (Lake Michigan) water?
As noted above, the vibe is suburban, and the tacky touches (what I'd give to read their employee manual -- it's gotta be a riot), from calling the ladies "bella," to the hilarious “recommendations” (after asking for the salumi menu, dude honestly told me, "Whenever prosciutto de Parma is available, I wouldn't pass that up") can be more than a little off-putting. I got a kick out of the Strip Club Style bathroom, complete with Wise Ol' Attendant (eerily attired in rubber gloves) and cologne assortment. I also enjoyed that they announce the availability of tables over a PA system. A clear tip of the hat to The O.G., and an invitation to the cheeky among us to take on obnoxious assumed names.
I know it’s not coming off that way, but I did like most of the food, and the $4 a quartino from-the-barrel table wine is quite good. dicksond, I can testify to the presence of effervescence, and it was served slightly chilled. At $16 for a liter -- which is, I think, 1.25 bottles of wine -- it's a steal, though not recommended for a party of two when half of said party has already quaffed a quartino or two and second half weighs 100 pounds. By the time we made it through the liter, we were more than a little rambunctious.
So we ordered a double espresso, which was served, oddly enough, without a saucer. Now, I do not proport to be an expert on Italy, but my lonely little cup looked wrong on the table. A more sober person would have let this go, I guess, but I wanted my freakin' saucer. Our server swooped by and stated: “Espresso is not served with saucers in Italy. There isn't a single saucer in this restaurant, so I can’t get you one.” When I countered that I’d been to Italy three times, and seemed to be served espresso with a saucer everywhere I went, he countered: "I've been to Italy, five times. I'm sorry, but you're wrong."
Thankfully, I'm a civilized cat, but I coulda woulda shoulda decked him for that or at least brought the tip below 20%, but I took it in stride. More fun to write about it here, and, for all I know, I might be wrong. Still, what kind of server talks back to/argues with a customer like that? (Antonius and others: *do* they serve espresso drinks with saucers in Italy? Who’s right here? FWIW, I called Quartino today and they confirmed that they don’t use saucers at the restaurant.)
What's funny is that I'll still probably go back.
m_s