🚀 go-pugleaf

Last night's gnocchi quest turned out much better than the 
previous episode of our exciting new reality show.  

I'm not yet completely convinced (as everyone else around here is) 
of the utter perfection of Jonathan Gold, but he certainly was right 
about Madeo, near Cedars-Sinai.  According to Gold, Madeo serves up 
some of the best gnocchi in LA; according to the Resident Lurker, 
they serve up some of the best gnocchi he's ever eaten.

That said, the sauce wasn't perfetto.  It was a simple gorgonzola 
sauce -- a little too simple, I think it's safe to say, if Himself 
took the garçon up not only on parmesan but also on the 
fresh-ground pepper (something I'm not sure I've ever seen him do).

But most everything else there was excellent.  My insalata tricolore 
was an Italian flag on a plate -- radicchio, endive roots, and 
arugula -- and a flag I would be quite willing to salute, 
patriotism be damned.  

And I finally got an opportunity to try bottarga, in a fabulous 
spaghetti alla bottarga.  Even if I had a source of bottarga here, 
I couldn't have made it that good, after my dozens of years of 
skillful spaghetti-wrangling.

The place is fairly expensive -- $9 salads, $22 pastas, $35 mains -- 
but my usual curmudgeonliness was ratcheted back a few notches by 
the quality of the preparation.  Most places that charge that much 
don't do it that well.  

Aside from the bland gnocchi sauce, there were only two flies in 
the ointment:  The hostess had a very odd concept of 10 minutes, 
and the bartenders (whom we had ample opportunity to observe in
action -- much of which action consisted of pulling their forelocks
as the GM hustled up and harangued them in Italian about filling
glasses too full) were barely competent.  My dirty gin martini was 
so filthy that I could barely taste the gin for all the brine -- 
and you know if they mix a drink better in Sprinklerville, that 
mixologist needs re-education and self-criticism.


Rage away,

meg

-- 

Meg Worley  _._  meg@steam.stanford.edu  _._  Comparatively Literate