Of Brick Walls and Pasta Trios

My Mom and I like two other things other than food-- and those are hardwood and bricks. This place we went to last night was a lovely, rustic and romantic Italian restaurant called L'Opera Ristorante Italiano at The Fort Strip, with walls warmed up by bricks. I was staring at the brick arches and walls from the loft, and I forgot to take a photo. Imagine that.

But I did not forget the grub. M was in the mood for splurging on a Friday night.

Minestra con Granchi

This was his soup- the Minestra con Granchi or simply Crab Soup in a tomato base. He liked it, and I could see big chunks of crabmeat on top of the soup.

Please forgive me for the mobile phone shots. I ran out of batteries. Sigh.

This photo doesn't do justice to my Minestrone Soup. It was so good. Earthy.

It was enough to fill me up. But the night was young.

Trittico della Casa

And because this was an Italian restaurant, I thought it was necessary to order pasta. We ordered the Trittico della Casa, a special selection of three pastas of our choice. So, the merry pinpointing began, where we ordered one from each category (Vegetable, Meat, Fish and Seafood).

They were good, but I am not going to do that again. It was excessive and not right. We couldn't enjoy each flavor on its own. Not again. But among the three, what stood out was the strong and pungent Penne Funghi Porcini ( under the Vegetable category, leftmost)). The sauce consisted of a thick and creamy Porcini mushroom cream sauce. Good. The other two flavors were the basic Ragu Toscano ( Meat sauce) and the Vongole Bianco (Seafood). They were good too.

Tagliata di Manzo con Fegato D’oca in Salsa Tartufata con Spinaci e Asparagus

But this one stole the show. Steak, medium well. Split into two.

Melts in the mouth. Salty, buttery. Enough said.

I only wish my camera was fully charged.

Their service is also good. Highly attentive waiters. :D

Bon appetit!