I'm a skeptical person at heart, and I like to think I'm not a sucker (unfortunate for the guy last night who approached me claiming that "I just got robbed a few blocks back and I need money to get home to Frankford" I told him to call 911. He said, "I don't want to have to fill out all those forms." Snicker snicker).
So when a restaurant claims on their menu to have a "world-famous chili" or an "award-winning fried chicken," I'm rarely impressed. It doesn't really mean much more to me than "we're trying to push this item and make up some fancy marketing technique to do so." I rarely find that the award-winning, world-famous item is any better than anything else on the menu.
Last night's meal at Cucina Forte made me rethink that a bit. "Maria's Famous Gnocchi" was fantastic. Loyal blog readers (all 3 of you) may remember the subpar gnocchi I had at Branzino recently. Well, this was loads better. The wife and I tried both the riccota gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce (heavy but delicious) as well as the spinach gnocchi in marinara sauce (light and fluffly) -- they were both excellent. The shapes were a bit unusual -- each "piece" was about 3 times of the size of anything else I had ever seen -- but that was more an interesting conversation piece for 3 seconds than anything else. Our waitress explained that was partially because there is no potato in the Cucina Forte gnocchi -- it comes from the owner's family recipe back in Italy. It may have been the best gnocchi I have ever had -- it was that good. Added bonus that they let you order the gnocchi as an entree and get half of one kind and half of the other.
Here is the full rundown on Cucina Forte:
THE FOOD: If you want to be a good Italian restaurant, you need to get your pasta right. And Cucina Forte did it. Along with the gnocchi, the wide spinach pasta with porcini mushrooms in a cream sauce was fabulous. Just really, really good. Very filling though. The one disappointment was the grilled calamari appetizer with balsamic vinegar. It was bland and tasteless. I would have liked to have taken a shot at dessert, but I was stuffed.
THE DRINKS: BYOB. Props to our waitress for having a bucket of ice for our bottle of white wine ready for us without us asking. More props for making sure we could reach it (again, see Branzino)
THE DECOR: What South Philly Italian restaurants should be. An open, airy space, lots of mirrors, cheesy photo of the owners hanging on the wall, and Sinatra on the stereo system. Interesting mix of clientele too -- old, young, white, black. It was Restaurant Week in many Center City restaurants (but not here) so I wasn't expecting much of a crowd, especially for a Tuesday night when they were calling for snow, but it was relatively full.
THE STAFF: Our waitress was fine. The wife thought she was a bit surly, but I had no problem with her.
MAD PROPS FOR: The chef. I simply could not have been happier about the pasta dishes. It's what South Philly Italian should be, but rarely is.
OVERALL: I'll be back. I really like Italian food done well (maybe because making pasta is not something I am good at). The menu at Cucina Forte isn't overly fancy, though there were quite a few specials, but the quality was excellent.
THE CHECK: $55, with tip, for two of us. Very reasonable.
On to the "Ds"...
Ineligible restaurants for Round 4 -- it's a short list. For some reason, there are a lot of places I haven't been to here:
- Dallesandro's Steaks -- Everyone has their favorite cheesesteak place. I don't pretend to be a cheesesteak connoissoire, but Dallesandro's down in the heart of Roxborough gets my vote.
- Dante & Luigi's -- A true south Philadelphia experience. Decent enough food, but it comes with a free opera performance courtesy of the wait staff. It's a fun group experience.
- Delilah's -- Not so sure about the food, but the scenery is quite titillating. Or so I hear.
- Dilworthtown Inn -- Fancy fancy in Bucks County. It's a quaint place for a romantic (and pricey) summer getaway.
- Distrito -- The latest Jose Garces incarnation (least until his newest, Chifa, opens this year). It's farther afield in West Philadelphia, but it's still very good. The Mexican wrestler masks all over the wall are cool to look at.
- Dutch Eating Place -- One of the eating stands in the Reading Terminal. The widest selection of pickles (love those Amish) I've ever seen.
Candidates for Round 4:
- Derek's -- It's probably the Manayunk spot with the longest history and most cache. http://www.dereksrestaurant.com/
- Devil's Alley -- Center City has a barbecue joint? Huh, who knew? http://www.devilsalleybarandgrill.com/
- Divan Turkish Kitchen -- An intriguing take on Mediterranean near Graduate Hospital. http://www.divanturkishkitchen.com/menu.html
- DiNardo's Famous Crabs -- I always liked their sign. Straight forward seafood, with an obvious emphasis on crabs, on the fringes of Old City. http://www.dinardos.com/
Only a few days to vote for this one -- we are going on Saturday with special guests. Reservations have been made at each venue so we'll be all set depending on the public's input.
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3 comments:
Finally, a success! We're always in search of good Italian restaurants. I'm sure we'll be checking this place out soon.
I liked Cucina Forte..it made me think of Little Italy in NYC. I liked that it was a BYOB and that it had a warm atmosphere that included a crystal chandlier and mirrors on the walls..all not as tacky as you would think.
We were seated immediately and initially the waitress (who I have a feeling is part owner or part of the family) was nice until we asked about a particular special a second time because we couldn't remember what it was. She was the only waitress there attending to at least 5 tables. I got the feeling that at some moments she was a little overwelmed..maybe it was when the espresso cup completely shattered when she left it to sit and fill with espresso on its own.
As for the food, I didn't like the app. at all. I was actually a bit concerned as to how our entrees were going to turn out, but I didn't need to worry because they were both excellent in their own right. One thing I did appreciate was that they brought out warm bread after we ordered. Note to all Italian restaurants: warm up your bread and make it good crusty bread! I'm totally turned off when a basket of cold bread arrives to our table especially at Italian restaurants. It's the easiest thing a restaurant can do right.
Although we didn't order dessert, one question I would have liked to have asked is: "Are at least some of the desserts homemade?" I give credit to restaurants to have at least one homemade dessert..nobody wants something coming out of a box.
All in all, it was a nice restaurant, but not in a great location. Be aware of who and what is around you..see the blogger's notes (aka: the husband)
what he said :)
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