Cafe Italia

JUST FYI, Cafe Italia will be closing its doors soon! So check it out while you can!

I'll be the lone poster for this one again since J has been living and breathing only school and work for a while now. Since I've been getting rather bored and lonely at night time since he is too busy to hang out with me (I know, you can go ahead and feel sorry for me now hehe ), I made plans with my amazing high-school friends who have moved here recently. It was so fun catching up on the A-town gossip and reminiscing. Anyway, our experience at Cafe Italia was memorable enough to post quickly.

We wanted to have a glass of wine on a patio somewhere and in Dallas that was actually surprising slim pickings. Of course any patio you do find will be looking out over a parking lot, but what can you do? We decided to go to Cafe Italia (on Lover's a little ways down from Celebration) because it was super close, had a patio and when we called to check, no wait. We were sat immediately upon arriving. One side note here...park next door at the paint shop because their parking lot is about 20 feet by 20 feet but they still require you to valet park. That is one thing I will never get about Dallas. What are we too lazy to walk the fifteen feet from our car to the door? Anyway, back on track!

We sat down and were greeted by a very friendly waiter. Let me put emphasis on friendly. I think he may have called me honey at one point. Anyway, I told them they had to try the white bean dip. It comes with these great "pasta chips", which are basically pieces of lasagna pasta that have been baked to a crisp. The dip is very mellow and they add a great cheese and some chunky tomatoes on top to finish it off.

B ordered the gemelli pomodoro with chicken. Her comment was, "It had a great flavor, but the chicken was kind of dry." N got the Risotto con Pollo, a "creamy risotto tossed with grilled chicken breast, asparagus tips, toasted pecans and smoked Gouda." He said he'd give it a 7 out of 10. It looked pretty yummy to me.

I got the Pasta San Miguel, "fresh fish of the day (in my case the waiter said it would be mahi mahi but it was definitely salmon) with shrimp, poblanos, garlic and fettucine and tossed with a light tomato cream sauce." It was good, but it was not a LIGHT cream sauce. That sucker was heavy and rich. I wish the I could have tasted the poblano peppers; they were hidden in the cream sauce.

The oddest thing about the meal was how long it took to get our food. We were one of the first people there and our salads came out after three different tables who arrived after us got their food. I don't know if our waiter forgot to put in the salads and entrees or if we just looked like we wanted to hang out for a while. He was a slightly odd duck: at one point, I needed a new fork and he flew my fork down to the table. Confused? Let me try to explain....you know when you are feeding a two-year old that doesn't want to eat his veggies and so you 'fly' the fork with the broccoli on it into their mouth. Well that's what he did with my fork, only onto the table. I think he tried being extra nice to try to make up for the 35 minute wait on our salads.

End of the story for this visit is we were slightly underwhelmed, but all of my visits in the past have been fantastic! I want to go back soon and see if they were just having an off night. Actually, now that I think of it, I think I've only ever been at lunch before. Maybe it's the evening staff? Anyway, if you do go you have to try the Cafe Lasagna, their house specialty... it is a Deep-fried smoked chicken lasagna with lemon marinara and cilantro pesto and tell me how it is. I've always wanted to try it and never have! Another good one is Gemelli Otto Formaggio, A "rich & creamy sauce with eight Italian cheeses topped with Gemelli pasta. It's so good it'll make you want to slap your Mama Mia." It's basically mac and cheese on steriods. It's incredibly rich and filling, so expect left overs!

We rate Cafe Italia a 4 out of 5 for food and a 4 out of 5 for twenty somethings.

Highlights:
- Patio when it's nice outside
- Tuscan White Bean Dip with lasagna chips
- Gemelli Otto Formaggio
- Good wine by the glass selection
http://www.cafeitaliadallas.com/