And, with the lack of a real kitchen, I have been microwaving dinner and trying some restaurants nearby by housing. So far I have gotten pretty lucky.
La Pesa Trattoria
It's literally 15 steps from my lodging. Can't get more convenient than that. It looked quaint and I had been eye-ing it since I arrived on Monday. It serves Milanese style. They had a couple things on the menu I wanted to try but overall it wasn't a menu that I was salivating over. Probably because I tend to go towards vegetarian and fish dishes. Most of the menu was meat, meat and more meat.
There was an appetizer, a burata mozzarella, that I wanted to try but thought that that plus an entree would be too much, so I still need to go back and check that appetizer out. I let the waiter choose my meal (prosecco - which I REALLY wanted to try with a gnocchi - I know, not the best pairing! - vs. a nebbiolo with the beef ravioli). Not too surprisingly, he chose the nebbiolo/ravioli pairing, BUT the management gave me a free aperitif - the prosecco! So really, the best of all worlds. :) The olives they served with the bread were divine, the bread, not so divine but tolerable. The raviolis were good. Don't get me wrong, delicious and full of pull beef. But I'm just not that into meat!
I of course couldn't say no to dessert, particularly the tiramisu. Served in a martini glass, which I hate, but delicious. I would definitely get that again.
All in all, service - 5 stars (although they didn't refill my water very quickly). Food - 3.5 stars. Wine - 3.5 stars (wine nothing super stellar and only a few available for glass tasting). I will go back for the service and to try that burata.
Wine + Entree (Ravioli) + Tiramisu = $60 (with 10% tip)
Simizu
I had seen a lot of people in this sushi/Japanese restaurant the other day and made me start craving sushi again. It got decent reviews and since it was only 30 steps away from my lodging, I decided to give it a try! :)
I went kinda early cause I am jetlagged in general. Kinda a mistake because the staff stared at me eating the entire time which kept me from 1) feeling comfortable and 2) made me self-conscious so I didn't take a picture of the most gorgeous and delicious appetizer! Continuing on that statement, I will say that it was difficult to really communicate my needs/allergies - that I am allergic to soy! - as they all were obviously more comfortable with speaking Japanese.
One of my favorite dishes in the US is the Agedashi Nasu from Sushi Kazu. I think their dish is pretty fantastic. I finally got this restaurant to agree to make me the Agedashi Nasu instead of their special Nasu Simizu dish which I can't eat because it is served with a Miso sauce. DEAR LORD! Thank goodness I insisted, because not only was it the MOST BEAUTIFUL dish (this is where I am so sad that I didn't just the guts to take out my camera and start snapping away!), but delicious! They had deep fried to perfection an entire HALF of an eggplant and served that. I know my description doesn't give it justice, so I will just HAVE to go back there to get it again. I know, it'll be really hard for me to have to do that for the sake of this blog. :)
I also got a hand roll and a rainbow roll. Too much food. They use a ton of rice and the sushi roll was HUGE. But in all seriousness, delicious. Warm, not too hot, rice perfect. The only thing that would have made it to die for would have been more vinegar in the rice. But now I am just nit-picking.
Forget about the sake. Not good.
Sake (120 ml) + Agedashi Nasu + Rainbow Roll + Tuna/Avocado hand roll= $45 (and I got leftovers out of it!)
Definitely will be returning!
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