Luigi's - Inexpensive Italian Bistro, Delizioso!

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Lasagna

Molten cheese oozes and surrounds this massive traditional meat lasagna.  Ricotta, mozzarella, sausage, and tomato sauce layer nicely and bring comfort with every bite.  This is lasagna done right; meaty, creamy, and saucy with every flavor distributed evenly.  I know the next time I crave for lasagna, I'll be at Luigi's getting mine!

Dough Knots

Artichoke & Mushroom Crostini

Aside from pasta, salads, pizza, and paninis, Luigi's offers a few other things such as their Dough Knots which are tied pizza dough, baked and tossed with herbed parmesan cheese and the Artichoke & Mushroom Crostini which contains roasted artichokes, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and goat cheese.  These simple appetizer size dishes have great flavors and are a great way to start.  Most involves bread though it won't spoil your appetite.  The crispy yet moist bread actually has a light tenderness to it, just enough to give the other ingredients extra texture without losing flavor.

Meatball Pasta

I know you see only three meatballs in this dish, though trust me, it's more than you can handle.  These meatballs are almost baseball size; hand-rolled, slow-cooked in Luigi's tomato sauce with corkscrew pasta, and baked with mozzarella cheese.  Unfortunately it came out a bit dry with minimal cheese and sauce, moisture and texture differences.  I would try it again only because I believe this was baked in the oven a little too long on accident and dried up the sauce and cheese, and harden the pasta.

Chicken Parm Panini

I'm not much of a sandwich person, but this - I can eat this every day!  The meaty moist tender grilled chicken brings you back to comfort and the additional flavor with the pepperoni and provolone pulls you in for more.  Though what amazed me most is the bread that cradles the deliciousness and heightens each bite through an amazing texture of moistness and crispiness to this panini that already has it going on.

Fuhgeddaboudit Thin Crust Pizza

Fuh-ged-da-boud-it!  When ordering this, you almost want to turn your hand palms up, put your fingertips together and pretend your a good fella.  The Fuhgeddaboutit pizza is made with classic cornmeal dusted thin crust pizza and is dolled up with tomato sauce, Italian meats, red onions, olives and mozzarella with arugula.  Like many other Luigi's pizza, the ingredients and toppings are unique and delicious.  My only comment is that I would have enjoyed it more if each slice held most of the toppings.  There were a few slices that didn't get all the awesome toppings.

I'll be going to Luigi's again for Italian when I'm looking for something tasty and affordable.  I mean, how can I not go back when there's the "hey yo" and "bada bing" pizzas I still need to try and also the "yeah buddy" panini.  Check it out!

http://luigismadison.com/
515 South Midvale Blvd, Madison WI, 53711
(608)661-7663

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Villa Dolce - A Modern Italian Cafe Experience

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Italian Mac-n-Cheese

Villa Dolce is a cute modern Italian cafe hidden in Downtown Middleton.  The restaurant is a redesign of a historic building, creating an authentic Italian cafe feel with warm colors, decor, and ambiance.  Thanks to restaurant week, I was able to experience the delightfulness the restaurant has to offer.  Their Italian Mac-n-Cheese comes out in a cute little black pot topped with herbs and breadcrumbs.  It was a light, smooth, delicious appetizer made with real Mascarpone, Fontina, and Parmesan cheese.  No heavy cream or runny cheese, just real ingredients and real flavors.

Organic Arugula & Spinach Salad

The ultimate salad can be found here at Villa Dolce with their Organic Arugula and Spinach Salad mixed also with Candied Walnuts, Ricotta Salata Cheese, Mandarin Oranges and a Balsamic Glaze; the perfect combination for flavor and texture.  Something so small can cause such an explosion of greatness in your mouth, you can't get enough.  I never thought I could say this, but I would have been fully satisfied with this salad alone.  But I'm glad I didn't stop there.

Angus Flat Iron Steak

Another explosion of flavor came from their Angus flat iron steak served with smashed fingerling potatoes, demiglace, and green beans.  With the perfect char on the outside and modest amount of demiglace; the already juicy, tender steak was enhanced to a "melt in your mouth" gratification. 

Fresh Lemon Pepper Linguini with Tiger Shrimp & Portabella Mushrooms

Unfortunately, there was a dish that left me a bit of confused since there were so many other great dishes.  The fresh lemon pepper linguini with tiger shrimp & portabella mushrooms tossed in olive oil, garlic, herbs finished with shaved parmesan sound great on the menu though it didn't hit my tongue the way it read.  The lemon pepper linguini was a bit strong and overpowering.  It had the kick I love, unfortunately, it was overpowering the wonderful flavor of the tiger shrimp and everything else on the dish.  This was very disappointing since the shrimp was done so well where it embraced the olive oil and herbs.  The more pasta I ate, the more all the other flavors disappear and suppressed into the pepper.  I do enjoy the real ingredients used though didn't enjoy a plate of pepper.

Cannoli

To break me apart from the disappointing linguini, the cannoli brought me back to the expectation I had from the first course.  Their cannoli was made with Ricotta and Vanilla Powdered Sugar dusted with Cocoa Powder.  The shell had a great solid crunch to balance out the smooth light cream on the inside.

Tiramisu

Another enjoyable dessert was their tiramisu.  Presented in a tin cup, you still get Lady Fingers, Mascarpone Cheese, Powdered Sugar, Expresso and Frangelico.  So light and delightful, you wish you got two.  It's absolutely delicious and the most perfect tiramisu you can imagine coming from a little cup.

You must try this delightful Italian Cafe at least for the wonderful modern Italian ambiance it presents.

Villa Dolce Website
1828 Parmenter Street  Middleton, WI 53562-3175

(608) 833-0033

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Nostrano Means Local!

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Seafood Brodetto

As quoted in their website and Italian-English dictionary, Nostrano means local and they do mean local with plenty fresh ingredients from nearby markets.  My first dish was the Seafood Brodetto and it was truly love at first taste.  Not like other seafood soup, Nostrano's Seafood Brodetto has it all.  The tomato-fennel broth is amazing.  It had a savory sweetness, crisp tang, and a bit of a kick from the chile oil.  I could have just only eaten the broth with the perfectly grilled bread and had been fully satisfied.  But they hooked it up with an abundance of seafood: yelloweye snapper, variety of shellfish, and squid.  I thought I would never say this, but this soup got it going on!  This is the best seafood brodetto I've ever had.

Smoked Pork Shank Sandwich

The Seafood Brodetto was amazing, unfortunately I can't say the same about the Smoked Pork Shank Sandwich.  I liked most every ingredient except for one, which was the main ingredient, the pork.  The giardiniera was great with a little kick and sourness, the greens fresh, whole grain mustard flavorful with spice, and the focaccia (flat oven-baked Italian bread) crunchy yet smooth.  So where did it go wrong?  The pork did not have a smoke flavor I was looking for, it had a very strong salty taste.  The bread, veggies, cheese had no chance to come out over the overly salted pork.  Unfortunately, for the sake of my taste buds, I would not be trying this dish again.

Tomato Bruschetta

The menu listed English Pea Bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, marcona almonds, pea shoots, and grilled sourdough; though since they were out of the peas, we had tomatoes to substitute and I must say I truly enjoy the revised bruschetta with tomatoes.  It was a very smart move to keep the tomatoes and mozzarella in big slices like a caprese instead of the familiar diced tomatoes.  It added a lot of body and texture to each bite.  The basil and watercress was a perfect complement to each other, with a bit of spice and tang without overpowering other flavors.  A unique tasty bruschetta; no regrets missing out on the English peas.

Torta

Nostrano definitely focus on creativity and bringing different flavors to the table.  They show this through their dishes and also their dessert.  The torta contained chocolate-hazlenut sponge, coffee, mousse, maple agrodolce (sweet and sour), coconut gelato (egg shape in picture).  It is what it sounds like, "a lot going on."  This dessert is unique as it contains many texture and flavor; layered with soft and thick chocolate, smooth and rich flavors; crush nuts and silk gelato, crunchy and melty.  Now put it all together and you have everything in one bite.

www.nostranomadison.com/

111 South Hamilton Street, Madison, WI

(608)395-3295

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Tutto Pasta - Madison Restaurant Week

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Tutto Pasta State Street - Restaurant Week

I took advantage of Restaurant Week to sample Tutto's Pasta on State Street and was pretty impressed.  From the three course lunch menu, I picked the Frittura di Calamari, Tutto Pasta, and for dessert, the Crème Brulee.

The calamari was lightly floured and fried to perfection, a light crisp batter on the outside with tender soft baby squid on the inside. 

As for the Tutto Pasta, you’ll know why it's their signature dish.  The tomato cream sauce coated the grilled chicken breast and pasta just light enough to fuse with the olive oil, garlic, onions, and mushrooms - creating a smooth pleasant flavor. 

And the Crème Brulee was made perfectly with the crystal sweet candy layer on top and smooth light crème inside.  

Tutto Pasta State Street
305 State St, Madison, WI  
(608) 294-1000

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Biaggi's Tirami Su

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This tirami su was amazing!  Do I need to say more?  It was rich and light at the same time, moist and smooth; just awesome.  What is different about this tirami su from others is the rich smooth chocolate curls that gives it an extra silky smooth chocolate flavor.  The mascarpone mousse was also deliciously moist and smooth.  You gotta try it - I recommend not sharing ;)

www.biaggis.com
601 Junction Rd, Madison, WI  
(608)664-9288

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Biaggi's North Atlantic Saith

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One of Biaggi's chef's specialties is the North Atlantic Saith, a moist flaky fillet served with vegetable couscous, clams, mussels, and a gralic-saffron seafood broth.  This dish was pretty subtle, nothing too striking or different from any other seafood dish or even within itself.  The broth was key to the dish.  It acted as a flavor enhancer and brought your taste buds full circle with the seafood flavor.  The texture was great, the fish and seafood were fresh and cooked perfectly.

www.biaggis.com
601 Junction Rd, Madison, WI  
(608)664-9288

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