Ever since I learned about burrata, a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, I was on a quest to try it. Fortunately, a good foodie friend mentioned her favorite restaurant that she attends weekly. Then everything else fell into place when another friend had a good reason to celebrate over dinner.
I had been to I Fratellini previously, but it was several years ago and it’s one of those places where everything on the menu sounds fantastic so you’ll want to go many times. They offer all my favorite types of pasta: Mushroom Ravioli, Tagliatelle, Lobster Risotto, and Linguine with Clams, so I knew it was going to be a challenge to just pick one again.
Before I could even attempt to pick out one entrée, I couldn’t help but linger over the antipasto dishes. I couldn’t decide between the two salads so I decided my friend and I would just share a plate of gnudi, an Italian dumpling stuffed with cheese, along with the burrata. The burrata was perfect for two people and my half of the cheese was thickly spread to perfectly fit over two large crostinis.
The gnudi was probably meant for one person, but was quite delicious as it was served with a thick marinara sauce with lots of thick tomato chunks.
Both my friend and I struggled to pick out an entrée although I had decided to go with seafood since that seemed to be what they are known for. I picked out the Pistachio Encrusted Trout with citrus butter over Sauteed Spinach so I could try something different besides salmon. The butter and pistachio flavors were just wonderful with the trout combining a sweetness with a nutty flavor. No hint of fishiness at all. The fish came right off the skin as well, perfectly cooked.
I would have claimed it was the best entrée there until I tried my friend’s Beef Tenderloin and it just about melted in my mouth, not to mention the scalloped potatoes in their creamy goodness.
Just when it couldn’t get any better, I went ahead and ordered the Chocolate Torta for dessert and we were served a huge piece! This was chocolate done right…chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting and chocolate sauce on the plate. Perfect.
The service was just incredible, but since the restaurant is very small, it got very noisy and very warm quickly. The kitchen is actually open in the corner of the restaurant so it might be best to wait until the height of summer passes. With it being so warm in the restaurant, I picked out a refreshing and crisp Pinot Grigio to kick off our meal.
Resources:
I Fratellini = http://www.saucemagazine.com/ifratellini/
Ooh, sounds delicious! I need to add I Fratellini to my list, I think.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I highly recommend it. Very small and romantic. :)
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