Four Italian Restaurants in One Month!
- Cindy Vattathil
- Mar 31, 2015
- 4 min read
As a kid, I used to believe (and rightfully so) that I could sustain myself entirely off of Italian food. I dreamed of frittatas for breakfast, pizza for lunch and lasagna for dinner. Every day would be such a pleasure if I were Italian, I thought. I imagined that was why they had been the country responsible for the Renaissance. With good food to fuel you, a person could do just about anything!
This month, since Italy was our chosen country, we had the good fortune to try out this philosophy. Perhaps not to the full extent of my dreams, we still gave it our best shot by eating at four Italian restaurants over the course of the month. Four...count them, four! For us, people who eat out as seldom as possible, that was a big deal!
1. Mascalzone - 12126 Westheimer, Houston, Texas
Our first outing started at Mascalzone. We had heard many good things about the place from friends, so decided it would be number one on our list. Initially, with the real, live native Italian waitstaff, it seemed like an excellent choice. Only thing I forgot to remember was the fact that real, live Italians are a bit more laid back than we hectic Americans. In fact, they were so laid back that our waitress failed to bring us any water or bread (despite us asking several times). Eventually, the water came, but the bread never did. And, as all parents know, when toddlers are around, bread is a necessary tool for the peace of the table! No bread = no peace.
For our meal, we ordered an interesting pizza/calzone combination. Half of the item on my plate was pizza, the other half calzone. It was interesting but certainly not worth the lackadaisical service.
My husband ordered the tagliatelle, which was made in house; but, again, nothing worthy of the fact that we felt over-looked and forgotten for our entire meal.
2. La Dolce Vita - 500 Westheimer, Houston, Texas
Our next outing happened to be at La Dolce Vita. This was one of those places we had read about in glowing terms, each review noting it as a place of high acclaim. And, to that end, the food certainly didn't disappoint! There was the same laid back Italian quality of the waitstaff, but with much more gusto in their approach than Mascalzone's. The ambience was more quaint, and there was no bread as a given meal-starter; but, the food was real. And it was good. We ordered the pumpkin crochettes for an appetizer, two pizzas and some pasta for the kids. The crochettes were an amazingly light way to begin the meal.
The pizzas were just like what we had eaten in Rome while on our honeymoon years ago. Tasty! Thin crust! Just the right amount of cheese! Superb! And the pasta (which was for the kids, initially, but became more enjoyed by us) was different. And I mean that lovingly. It was like no other pasta I had ever tasted before. It had a rich quality that made me think they had boiled it in broth rather than plain water. Subtle, but deliciously unique! It was definitely worth our time to venture to this spot!
3. Giacomo's Cibi e Vino - 3215 Westheimer, Houston, Texas
On the third outing, we made it to Giacomo's. When I say "we" I mean me and a couple of friends. Since I had heard this was a trendy spot, I figured it might not be the best choice to bring a toddler. And, such an assumption would have been true. With the feelings of a more upscale joint, Giacomo's felt more like a place to have a business lunch or a low-key date than family time. But, all that aside, the food was pretty spectacular. The dishes were quite small and the portions even smaller; but, oddly, they were nicely filling.
I ordered the involtini di melatzane and felt pretty certain it was the best eggplant dish I had ever eaten!
Then, if one could call the next little dish the "main course," the polpetti puccini (which were lamb and beef meatballs) just melted in my mouth. The generous sauciness and the dense-yet-light meat was just simply breathtaking. I mean, literally, I could hardly catch my breath as I inhaled all five of them. They were amazing! With my smallish appetite and new-found understanding of the restaurant's skills, I vowed then and there to return! And next time, with my full family in tow! Maybe.
4. Luigi's Pizzeria - 3700 Almeda, Houston, Texas
Luigi's Pizzeria was our fourth and final restaurant before the month ended. It was definitely an "adventure" spot in terms of its Midtown location, its small number of tables and its BYOB Hipster vibe. But, with homemade gelato and a notably good NY style pizza, it felt only natural to brave the wilds of these otherwise uncomfortable surroundings. Cramped quarters and communal tables were all but forgotten when we each took a bite of our gelato...which, I should mention, we ate before pizza!
The strachiatella (my choice) was out of this world! The mango and strawberry were so fresh!
It was clear that these guys knew what they were doing and were well on their way to being my new favorite spot - at least, for gelato. As for the pizza, barring the fact that the supreme had more olives than our family cared to partake, it was good.
It's hard to rank pizza in terms of the best, but this was definitely a strong contender. And I would definitely return to Luigi's...even if only for gelato.
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