wisehands

I liked the nutty bread the most too, but we didn't get any breadsticks! Roberto, dove i miei grissini? Che peccato! I agree this ravioli dish could be improved by better balancing the sage, butter, cheese flavors. Also agree the eggplant and lobster in the mezzelune were more mild in comparison to the sauce, however, we really liked the flavor of the sauce so we didn't mind as much. I generally find "luxury" fillings (e.g., lobster, crab, etc.) in ravioli often don't stand out much, so it's not worth the extra cost that usually goes with it.

Le nostre belle stelle must have been shining upon us as everything clicked tonight at G3 for our DR special ... we even found a parking space around the corner AND despite the traffic got there exactly on time! We didn't encounter any of the mishaps that befell some of the other commentators. Even with the dreaded "private party upstairs," we were seated immediately, the timing of service from the kitchen was excellent, food temps were spot on, and precision prevailed over chaos in the end. Our only quibble was the noise level was at "must raise your voice to be heard," although that improved after the crowd thinned out (place was nearly full at 8:30). Onto the food (leaving ingredient breakdowns out as many dishes have been described in previous posts .... the dinner menu can be found at http://www.galileorestaurant.com/downloads%5Cg3_menu_dinner.pdf ). For 2 persons: Budino di Parmigiano -- A must for those who like truffle-mushroom flavors. The cheese and cream made it pleasingly unctuous (in the savory good sense), though not quite pudding-like. Regarding questions raised above about the intended serving temperature, mine was hot and that seemed like how it was meant to be. Tonno delle Isole -- Nice tuna flavor, made interestingly complex by the 3 forms of tuna. The fregola (a pasta of Sardinian origin, small couscous-sized balls made from semolina that are coarser and rougher than couscous, usually toasted, though not sure these were) were slightly doughy, which distracted slightly from the tuna. Porcini -- Though described as "two ways," it's not really two separate preparations. It's more like a disc shaped sauteed cheese & mushroom stem filled large fritter with sliced mushroom cap, garlic, parsley, & truffle sauce on top. The tasty cheese and mushroom flavors are clear and strong. Ravioli Verdi alla Fonduta -- If you like that butter-sage flavor on your ravioli, this is for you. The cheese has a much more subtle presence than in the Porcini dish. The pasta of the ravioli was tender with mild flavor. Mezzelune di Melanzane e Granchi -- The tomato orange sauce was the standout in this dish ... we're going to have to (try to) make this sauce at home! The flavors of the pasta and fillings were fairly low key here. Taglierini Neri All'Aragosta -- All the elements sang in harmony in this one tonight! The pasta was tender with that ineffable flavor the ink brings to it on ocassion, the lobster was cooked just right and luscious, the sauce was nicely balanced in seasoning and flavors. Branzino -- A showcase for the simplicity of Italian fish cooking ... a whole fresh fish, fresh herbs, a few veggies, dash of good olive oil cooked in its own juices sealed in foil (rather than parchment or paper in this case). You end up with a moist, tender, delicious piece of fish on your plate. And the $8 surcharge (which doesn't appear on the menu on the G3 web site BTW) wasn't applied to the DR special. What could be better? Aragosta e Calamari -- The lobster was cooked just the right side of being underdone, which worked for us. The squid was tender and the cabbage filling pleasantly surprised. The polenta contributed a nice creaminess just when it was needed. Gianduja Semifreddo -- As a lover of the gianduja flavor, couldn't pass this up. Wasn't disappointed. Really liked the toasted hazelnuts in it. If you can imagine a gianduja meter measuring strength and purity of the gianduja flavor, with Nutella being a 1 on the low end and a gianduja candy made by a top of the line cioccolataio from Torino being a 10. I'd rate this a 6. Zuppa di Gorgonzola -- Had a feeling a blue cheese soup (gorgonzola, pepper, celery in a desert??) wouldn't garner many orders (waiter confirmed ... our was 2nd order so far), but feeling lucky we were ready to roll the desert dice ... and it came up a natural 7! Although the menu listed pear and red wine, we think fig and port was in it tonight and it clicked. This one was a revelatory Wow!! If the chocolate tort, panna cotta, and apple crostata seem ho-hum, give this a try. In summary, we thoroughly enjoyed what we ordered, liking the taste of everything we had. The service was excellent and we could tell the staff was making an effort to please and make it work (perhaps some of the previous comments put a fire under 'em). Having eaten at G1, G2, and Laboratorio, I'd say this meal was equal to G1 and G2 on their better days, although not quite up to Laboratorio (which I wasn't expecting ... our last time at Laboratorio was one of the best meals we've had in DC).

3rd time at Pacci's: Had the Tartufo (provola, mushroom, parm., truffle oil) and the Parmigianella (tomato, eggplant, provola, fontina, parm.). Really liked the flavor of both. Compared to the last time we ate here (see above), much less liquid collected on the plate, although the inner half of the pizza was still soggy. OTOH, the crust had a nice char and still tasted good. I think it's partly due to the crust being very thin. I guess it's just their style, as they've been open a while now and I imagine they've gotten feedback about it by now, but that's still how they make it. Despite the crust texture issue, the flavor of Pacci's pizza is authentically Italian and comes close to (but not quite) what I've had in Italy. Service was very friendly. BTW, when they first opened they were playing an Italian internet radio station, which was a nice touch. Unfortunately, it's been replaced by an extremely pop XM station. The padrone told me that they got busted by ASCAP, which demanded exorbitant royalty fees for playing Italian radio in Silver Spring, MD! So they switched to XM.

Looking for a place near the hotel where relatives were staying, we tried Rock Creek. Starters: Roasted Baby Beet salad tastily showcased the earthy flavors of the beets. Maryland Crab Soup had a proper amount of crab and nicely balanced the crab and vegetable flavors. The only quibble was a bit too much salt for our tastes. Roasted Eggplant was an interesting deconstruction of the classic with small pieces of rolled and filled eggplant appearing next to its tomato sauce and a smear of arugula pesto and out of context - yet welcomed and tasty - micro green salad. For me, the tomato sauce was the weak component, tasting oversalted and not complementing the eggplant. Also, the $14 tab seemed to warrant more than 4 small (think size of your finger) slices of eggplant. Main courses: Diver Scallops was a standout, with a generous portion of sweet, well cooked scallops and garnishes having flavors that combined well with the scallops. Slow Cooked Organic Salmon was made properly, tasted good, and had a nice sized portion of salmon, but was a bit on the ordinary side. A less generous plate was the Herbed Farfalle, which had luscious ingredients that combined for great flavor, but didn't have enough of the main ingredient -- farfalle! An $18 pasta entree with not enough pasta just befuddled me, especially in comparison with the scallop and salmon portions -- much more costly ingredients than a couple more ounces of pasta and sauce. Overall, we liked our meal and appreciated the healthy preparations of Rock Creek;s kitchen, along with the having the nutritional breakdowns available. That's accountability! The ambiance was comfortable, noise level was not too bad, and service was very attentive. The menu is rather modest in number of items, with on one special, an appetizer, being offered that evening, although we had no problem finding items we wanted to try.

On our second visit to Pacci's, we had the Verace (a margherita with AVPN ingredients) and the Poverella (mozz, eggplant, peppers, mushroom, basil, artichoke). I lived in Italy for a year, so having some great Italian pizzas as a basis for comparison, Pacci's pizzas compare favorably in flavor and style. The strengths of Pacci's pizza is the quality and flavor of the ingredients and crust. The weakness is the crust got soggy, especially the Verace. The tomato sauce on the Verace had good flavor, but seemed watery and seemed to be the main culprit for sogging the crust. I mopped up the exuded pizza liquid with some crust, which was tasty in itself, so all was not lost. The pizza prices seemed a bit high to me, but if one lives around Silver Spring, it beats going downtown for a Pacci's pizza that is close to, but not quite like, one in Italy. Nonetheless, I'd say Pacci's has the best pizza in Silver Spring.