Summerlicious 2007: Mistura

This Friday our Summerlicious dinner was at Mistura. We went with Jay's sister Tammy and her man Nick. Our reservation was a tad late (9:45pm), but then again this is one of the best restaurants in town, it is to be expected. We were seated the minute we arrived, and had a great table. Started off with some drinks well not Nick, he is a very responsible designated driver, and had a taste of the Mistura bread basket, a nice composition of cheese sticks, flat bread and mini baguette along with green olive dip.

Now for Mistura Summerlicius menu:

APPETIZER:

pappa al pomodoro
tuscan style tomato and basil soup with a grilled crostino
or
insalata dell’ortolano
summer greens and vegetable salad with a lemon dressing
or
risi e bisi
risotto with green peas
or
prosciutto di parma
parma ham with parmigiano cheese, cantaloupe and balsamic glaze

I had the tomato soup; it was very nice although the texture was a bit odd at first taste, that's before I realized that it was made with bread. Jay and Tammy had the risotto, so delicious. Bright green, grains cooked just so, with beautiful plump green peas on top… very summery. Nick had the classic parma ham and cantaloupe, a very generous portion and he seemed to have enjoyed it.

MAIN:

arrosto di agnello
rosemary roasted leg of lamb, red wine and black olive sauce, sauteed chick peas and rapini
or
pollo alle spezie
roasted spiced chicken with saffron rice cake and roasted peppers
or
filetto di salmone
seared salmon filet with sauteed zucchini, garlic, cherry tomato and fresh herbs gremolata
or
maccheroni e peperoni
tube shapedd pasta and roasted pepper with ricotta salata

Jason had the leg of lamb, medium rare looked very nice, but I didn't taste it, lamb is one of my least favorite. Nick and I had the chicken…. ummm… not the best. The plate lacked color. The chicken had a very strong Moroccan taste, which for me conflicted with the saffron cake. It was interesting but definitely not something I would have again. Tammy went with the pasta. It was delicious, but it was just pasta, not house made, straight from the box, with some veggies, for me it does not take much skill to make.

DESSERT:

tiramisu d’estate
raspberry and lemon tiramisu
or
tortino all’olio di oliva
olive oil cake with orange compote
or
formaggio e mostarda
italian cheeses with preserved fruit from cremona
or
frutta di stagione
fresh seasonal fruit in a minted peach broth and crème fraiche

Jason and Nick had the tiramisu, rich flavorful and definitely a nice way to finish a meal. I had the olive oil cake. Now this was an unexpected dessert, on its own the cake was not to my liking, not sweet and speckled with rosemary (I really dislike rosemary), however eaten with the orange compote it was delicious. Tammy went with seasonal fruit, light and refreshing. We had some espressos and a cappuccino, and since we were at a restaurant that has some of Jay's friends we got complimentary glasses of Muscat wine.

I love this restaurant, and even though this meal was not as perfect as our winterlicious experience, we're going to come back for the regular menu after our vacation.