Low lights and low sodium .... but good pizza !

           Date night … a night to dress up (maybe), hold hands, snuggle close, and spend some one on one time with your significant other remembering what life was like before you realized that your “My Little Pony” collection or your unreasonable love for Kung Fu movies didn’t send that other person running for the hills …..

Ahhhh the ever so important date night. It’s a great thing. This weekend, we opted to take our date night up a little past downtown to the lovely and well-reviewed Double-Zero Napoletana. It promised a modern presentation of traditional Southern Italian food in a modern, rustic setting. They were created and managed by the same group who launched the Iberian Pig and Cooks & Soldiers, who are both listed on the challenge sheet. Imagine that, one resteraunt group with three notable locations on the list. Sounds promising !

Nah … don’t get too excited …. At least not tonight …..

We made our way to the Roswell Road location and were surprised to see that they offered on-site valet parking. Since I had the chance to ride along instead of drive that night, we were in the van and none too comfortable with the idea of valet. We parked in the little strip mall next door and walked over. The asthetics were geared towards modern rustic with lots of wood and iron. The lighting was dim but viewable and the entrance was sparsely decoated. We were greeted at the register/hostess stand where we gave our name for the reservation (which you can make online with OpenTable). Let me preface this entry by telling you that we arrived at 9:30 on a Saturday night with reservations knowing they closed at 11:00pm. You’ll see why this matters later.

      I wanted to come earlier but SOMEONE (I won’t name my husband’s name) was tired and needed a nap. Cool. Regardless, we were handed off to the lovely Hailey and seated quickly in the nearly empty eatery. The restaurant seemed to be broken into 3 linear sections, partitioned off with floor to ceiling panels of fabric that provide a “wall” without actually making you feel walled in. The first was nearest the front and centered around what looked like a bar and a dessert display. I didn’t get to linger too long so I didn’t see how much seating was in that area. There were a few people sitting at the bar and a couple tables, chatting idly. The lighting up front was the brightest I saw and I imagine that’s because you need to see to mix cocktails.  We were seated in the middle section, where we sat unbothered by anyone else because we were the only ones. Directly behind another fabric “wall” was another section that contained a row of tables along a beautifully decorated back wall. There was what looked like a long, continuous bench along the wall lined with throw pillows in color-popped array. The wall was decorated in barrel-bottoms fixed to the framed out sections. The lighting seemed brighter than our own…and there was one group of woman having a lively conversation at one of the middle four-top tables on the floor. Our own section was dimly lit (but again, easy to read our menu), with two rows of four-top tables alone each perimeter. The middle section of the room was lined with extra-long “family-style” tables that had the appearance of being solid wood. The lighting was suspended from the ceiling with globe-style fixtures housing Edison bulbs.

The amber glow played nicely with the dark wood, giving the space a warm, intimate feel without being dark or depressing. The music playing throughout was neither too loud nor too soft. The sound was neutral and not leaning towards any one genera. I regarded it more as a sound screen then actual entertainment. Even after another couple joined our section towards the end of our meal, we were neither bothered nor even much noticed their presence. Every table was able to sink into their own cocoon of existence with the lighting and music shielding you from outside intrusion.

 

 

                The menu is pretty straight forward and not too lengthy. It’s broken down into your expected Italian catagories of Antipasti, L’Arrosto, Insalate, Pizze, Pasta, and Secondi. We were there to try to Pork Belly Risotto…so that was a no brainer. We added on the scallops and the short ribs to round off the antipasti order. For our main meal, Elliott chose the Maiale Pizze and I satisfied my belly with an order of the Bolognese. As a side note, our initial drink order exchange showed us just how unrefined we tend to be, our poor waitress:

Hailey: “Can I get you two something to drink? We have wine, beer, and also craft cocktails from the bar.”

Me: “Do you have anything nonalcoholic…?”

Hailey: “We have nonalcoholic beer…”

Me: “No like…tea…coke?”

Hailey: *slight confusion* “I mean…we have coke”

Me: *at this point realizing apparently nobody orders coke* “Okay…we’ll have coke”

The coke was kinda flat … it IS obvious that nobody orders coke and everyone else instead participates and orders their crafted cocktails and locals beers…or at least pretend to adult and goes along with the typical wine pairings. We don’t participate and adult very well.

       Anywhoo … the food came out relatively quickly and the presentation was nice. We ooooh’d and ahhh’d over each individual plate before digging in. I think Elliott was a little more enthusiastic about the food then I was because after my first bite, I was pretty much deflated. The pork belly risotto is supposed to be the highlight of this place….and I just can’t understand why. It needed salt. More then anything else, it needed salt. The texture was fine but just the taste, I wasn’t impressed. It’s supposed to be a jalapeno pesto risotto with a root beer balsamic glaze….that would make you think it’s a flavor bomb!!! It was not. The poached egg on top sat quivering in I’s barely done state …the whites still viscous in some places.

Pork belly risotto

     Let me tell you, it’s hard…. HARD ….to mess up pork belly (which is basically bacon) but I was just not in love. Elliott apparently ate all the good, crispy pieces and I only seemed to find the fatty ones with little flavor. I mean damn …. I was just not feeling it. The short ribs provided some relief, they were tender and succulent. Again, the whole thing could’ve used some finishing salt but whatever …personal preference. The Brussel sprouts on the plate were unpleasantly undercooked and had a “soapy” taste that I associate with them in their raw state. There was a carrot puree and goat cheese demi.  Not quite sure who’s bright idea that pairing was. The carrot puree reminded me of baby food and the goat cheese demi in the dim lighting reminded me of what happens when baby food makes a second appearance. It was not appetizing. I ate the short rib around it and ignored the rest. The best of the three were the pan seared scallops with sunchoke puree, various veggies, and golden raisins. Elliott was downright excited because he said the scallops tasted like they were fried in bacon grease. I had to remind him gently that no place wants to say they fry their stuff in bacon grease, instead ask if its pan seared in pork fat. Whatever the method, they were good. We both enjoyed them and ate every scrap.

Seared Scallops w. Corn

Soon after finishing our delicious scallops, the main dishes arrived. Let me speak a word on this pizza. If you’re sitting down in the middle section and you look to your left….at the end of the seating area, you’ll see two large pizza ovens taking up a good amount of space. I’m not sure if these are wood fired or coal fired or what but I do know they add to the ambiance and make a damn good pizza. He had ordered the pizza Maiale which combines Nueske’s bacon, fig-onion agrodolce, goat cheese, mushrooms, arugaula, garlic, and olive oil with a sprinkling of vanilla salt. ( I just looked back and told Elliott his pizza had vanilla salt on it …he made a face). The crust was beautifully charred and blistered on the bottom…causing it to be pleasantly crisp and hold up to the numerous toppings and oil. This is a white pizza so the traditional red sauce is replaced with garlic and olive oil as the “moisture”. All together, the interesting array of toppings made for one delicious slice. Elliott couldn’t stop eating and seemed quite annoyed at my insistence in trying a slim slice. We thought the pizze would be an individual serving but it turned out to be a full 10-12in pizza served w. kitchen shears for efficient “slicing”. Pretentious toppings aside (seriously, vanilla salt?) it was epic.  



 

           My pasta Bolognese came out as well ….and the traditional combination of pork sausage, pancetta, herbs, spices, and I assume milk (bc it was a blush sauce, not a full red) coated the advertised handmade pappardelle pasta. The dish was hearty and filling, it just needed salt. I know the parmigiana is supposed to “salt” the dish but it just seemed to be lacking that finishing flavor. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great. I kind of wish I had gone for the orecchiette with the sausage, peperonata, pancheta, and carmelized onions. But I didn’t and this is the life I choose.

       I did eat my food…well, about half. I had a full portion and that was pretty generous so I ended up taking about ½ home. Let me throw this in while I’m here …. If they offer you desert, get it ! Steer clear of the red velvet cake. Not that it’s bad …it’s just, if you order red velvet cake you have certain expectations and it can cause you a little anger to get some modern take on something when all you wanted was to relive your childhood at grandmas. (It’s like a frosting free slab with freeze dried berries…it’s served w. a crème fraiche gelato which stands in for the cream cheese frosting…except no, it doesn’t) That being said, try their chocolate chip blondie version. Good lord !!! The blondie with the accompanying gelato was just so damn good. Like, sooooooo damn good. The red velvet comes with a crème fraiche gelato (which is also good) but the blondie comes w. this caramel’y crunchy gelato that is just life changing. I finished it off … I licked my spoon … I wanted to beg for more but I have my pride.

         All in all … would I go  back? Maybe. I hope that the lack in impressiveness was centered around it being late (although that’s no excuse, a kitchen should be able to turn out A+ food at any hour) … I’m willing to come back and see if things could live up to more than just the deliciousness of the pizze offerings. I feel like if you come at 6 or 7….maybe try something different, I’ll have an experience with the food that is equal to the beauty of the surroundings.

 

      The price point isn’t that bad … it’s about $8-12 for small plates, $15-20 for the pizza, $17-35 for the entrees. You can get in and out for about $80 a couple if you’re indulgent….not including wine. It’s not a bad night out … I was just a little underwhelmed. Next time I’ll steer clear of the flashy names I don’t recognize and stick to the tried and true foods that are hard to complicate. I feel like if they dialed back some of what I consider pretentiousness (seriously people, vanilla salt?!) and focus on developing and elevating the flavors, it would be spot on. But that’s just me …. Remember, I ordered a Coca-Cola with my dinner.