We usually don't do anything on Valentine's day, mostly because of the traffic and also the fact that we don't want to pay for the "holiday price". But this year, Guai Lo decided we should go out and have a nice dinner. Super sweet, right? The restaurant he picked is located in Pasadena, and without a doubt, an Italian restaurant because that's one of my favorite cuisines.
As usual, it is a small charming place, which is how I like it. They actually had a Prix Fixe Valentine's day menu, as I am rebellious, I picked my own courses for the night. We ordered two pasta dishes, one entrée and two desserts, which was a little more than we needed. But, what are the odds that we are coming back to the same restaurant as there are so many more to try? Therefore, we usually go all in! Here is what we ordered:
Squid Ink Lumache - Maine Lobster, Fennel, Meyer Lemon, Truffle Butter
Torchiette - Pork Ragu, Grana Padano, Gremolata
Pitman Farms Roast Duck - Urfa Chile, Salsify, Smoked Parsnip Puree, MandarinquatsGianduja Chocolate Budino - Cocoa Nib, Truffle Salt, Ligurian Olive Oil
Olive Oil Cake - Citrus Gastrique, Salted Honeycomb Gelato
Excellent choice! Everything was absolutely delicious. Both pasta dishes were great, and it is really hard to pick which one we like more. But if I had to choose, I think the Torchiette won by a teeny bit. I usually prefer any non-red sauce pasta, but this one was really well done. The balance of saltiness, acidity and sweetness was perfect.
For the entrée, I like the taste of the duck, but it was slightly undercooked. When I told them about it, I think they handled it very well. They cooked it a little more and gave us back the plate, and took the dish off the bill. We were literally one of the last two tables that night, and everything else was perfect, so I would not hold that against them after a long valentine's night.
As for the dessert, the olive oil cake might look like it's very plain, but it was my favorite. It was full of flavor. It was warm and slightly crispy on the outside, moist inside, and with the combination of cold gelato, it was heaven! The chocolate budino was very good as well, but it was as much of a surprise as it was for the olive oil cake, and also it was not hard to find a chocolate budino on the menu in most restaurants. So, if you have to choose one dessert to try here, definitely recommend the olive oil cake.
Although it was tiring with the drive on the weekday night, it was so worth it! Thank Guai Lo again for a wonderful meal. <3