…or so we like to think, bas I have to say this time bayyadoua.
Last week I went to Osteria il Mattarello in Gemmayze with B and Z. We were very warmly greeted by the waiter who Deedee knew from another place, therefore, she figured service was going to be good. Even the friendly Italian chef came to welcome us and recommend a couple of dishes. Benvenuti!
For starters we had the Beef Carpaccio - delicious and raw (hint hint), then the Oven Baked Scallops that came breaded and served on a shell – a little cliché and, personally, I like my scallops raw or seared… yaani, this dish didn’t go down too well with Deedee.
For mains we had the Pumpkin Ravioli – on the sweet side with sage to give it a kick… nice touch! We also had the Seafood Linguini which consisted of a fun combo of fresh seafood in a light white wine sauce… just as it should be.
Alla fine, we had the Crudiola pizza topped with parma ham, cherry tomatoes, rocca and parmesan shavings… yaani this was a fabulously deedeelightful pizza that hit the spot in terms of comfort food to end the fiesta.
Vino wise, we went for the Villa Rocca Soave 2008. You can’t go wrong with a light, crisp bottle of Soave. The nose is fruity with melon, vanilla and light oak. On the palate, we got melon and pink grapefruit, with a smooth almond creamy finish.
Overall service was very pleasant. I’ll definitely go back to Osteria il Mattarello again to try some more of their menu items. That will be test # 2. For reservations: 70-898987 or 01-570075 open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner… so what’s with the cheesy #’s?
So we finally figured out the wine’s “nose”? As with most noses in Lebanon it took a while to recognize