Wednesday, 09 January 2013

• Our Two Year Anniversary Dinner at IL Fornetto

  

  January 7, 2013 was mine and my special man's anniversary. We didn't get to spend the day together since we both had work, but after work we met up for dinner. We had our eyes and hearts set on this great Italian restaurant that we've tried before, but when we arrived it was closed for an unknown reason.

  My boyfriend ended up taking me to a restaurant close by known as IL Fornetto. The neighborhood that the restaurant is situated in got hit pretty hard by Hurricane Sandy since it's close to the ocean and it was a Monday night, so maybe that's why it wasn't busy at all.

  

  Our waiter came to our table greeted us and explained to us the specials of the day. While we were deciding on what to order for appetizer and entree, our waiter brought us our drinks.

  

  Our waiter brought out sparkling water from Pellegrino. I never had Pellegrino, but I've heard of it and seen it all over. I've been on a seltzer/sparkling water binge lately so I was interested in how it felt and tasted.

  I know it's just carbonated water, but to me it was amazing and refreshing. Add a slice of lime into it and BAM, you've got a nice cool and refreshing drink for yourself.

  

  The next item that came was our bread basket and a bottle of olive oil. The bread was actually tasty especially when dipped with a little olive oil.

  

  I read a recent review on Yelp and the reviewer said the fried calamari was amazing at IL Fornetto, so I decided to give it a shot. My boyfriend and I were happy with the portion size and it was fried to perfection and it was crispy and tender.

  I became bored of the fried calamari after eating a few pieces because there was absolutely no seasoning or flavor. The fried calamari didn't do justice.

  

  Next up was our entrees. I had one of the specials of the day which was risotto with shitake mushroom, asparagus, and grilled shrimp. The risotto was well flavored and tasty.

  I'm not sure what it was, but I kept biting on tiny pieces of sand so the experience of eating the risotto wasn't too pleasant. I didn't say anything to our waiter since I just wanted to try to enjoy the dinner with my boyfriend.

  

  My boyfriend ordered the Mediterranneo which was fresh fettucine, vodka cream sauce, shrimp, and bay scallops. He took our waiter's suggestion and ordered it.  His dish actually tasted amazing. It was seasoned perfectly. My only complaint was that the scallops weren't tender enough.

  My boyfriend wasn't pleased with his dish and felt there was a little too much cream.

  In conclusion, our dinner wasn't exactly what we hoped for especially since we ended up trying a new restaurant that we hardly knew about, but it was an experience for us both. I think I would like to at least give IL Fornetto another chance, but perhaps a lunch instead.

  
  What restaurant do you like to go to for a special occassion?

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