Spectacular food for any crowd? Just go to Amalfi Ristorante for greatness!

Every once in a while, you come across something interesting. I won’t ascend to the heights of gushing over sheer perfection. All I said was that it was easily interesting. Not bad, but not in the way of getting trillions of dollars every time you breathe. And, of course it isn’t that simple, alas. You can’t live without life. And without food or water you can’t live. This restaurant was a very alluring place. Food (good food) was hardly anywhere to be found. If you haven’t read my insults of Taipei Tokyo, then I'll fill you in- good is not anywhere near my high standards. How it wasn’t near good was because it was almost on top of my standards. And I have very high standards. I swear not to give out five stars unless I might be so lucky. Or if the owners are, come to think about it. I might go on about inner décor, except the only time I went in was going to the bathroom. I ate outside that night, so in that case, I'll definitely advise you to eat outside. As most Italian restaurants, they served bread, butter and olive oil. I’d have to say that I’m not dishing out originality points for this one; however, I admit it was a fresh chewy loaf that worked well with the full bodied olive oil. I haven’t had soup for an elongated period of time, and pumpkin potato soup was a nice change of pace. It was thick and smooth and peppery. It wasn’t exactly paradisaical, and it wasn’t quite my palette, but I liked it nevertheless. And here’s something strange: it didn’t taste at all like pumpkin. It was only potato soup, according to my taste buds. A platter of white beans soon followed after a sip of water. It had a rich, bold, savory taste; the soup surrounding it was similar, with the exclusion of the fact it was more bold, savory, and salty. Tomatoes and mozzarella (aka caprese) came. By the way, they make the mozzarella themselves. Isn’t that an excellent thing to know? The mozzarella isn’t very good plain, but pair its flavor with your tomatoes (and a bit of basil, too) and it’s a luscious, most wonderful savor. It tastes fresh, vibrant, laced with light balsamic notes. Entrees came: four cheese ravioli for me, tortellini for my mother (which I sampled and will tell you all about). My ravioli was smooth and creamy, slightly nutty, with a subtle aftertaste. The mellow tomato sauce brings out the vibrant taste of cheeses. As I said, I tried some of my mom’s tortellini, a dark dish with a mushroom sauce. The sauce was extremely well bodied and zesty. The actual pasta itself was perfectly al dente and  mild. I usually dislike mushrooms; usually, is an understatement. And to top my already fabulous meal off, I enjoyed a tartufo ice cream ball. A smooth, creamy, indulgent ice cream with a dark and light chocolate veneer- on the entire dessert, it was. Dig deeper to the ice cream and you’ll find fruity notes, hidden. The service here is great! I do not like the kind of waiter who comes all the time saying, "Is everything ok?" Most people will think this as gracious and kind. If it is a place like this, I'm on to your tricks. It makes me slightly suspicious. It shows that they're insecure about their own food, a bad sign. A waiter / waitress who does not come often is more secure about the food and a better waiter because he/she thinks the food is hard to perfect from what already has been served. If he/she is not coming to you, the business is so good that it is hard to get from one deserving customer to the next. Amalfi gets four and ½ stars! Yum!

Enjoy your next bites,

The Tiny Tastebud

Amalfi Ristorante Italiano

12307 Wilkins Avenue

Rockville, MD 20852

301.770.7888, fax 301.770.3542

http://www.amalfirockville.com/home.html

A restraint- or you could name it Taipei Tokyo- WARNING!

When first coming to the restaurant it looked like a purely Japanese restaurant because of the beautiful painting that would catch most eyes, consisting of 10 lovely ladies. However, I was disappointed to see the American desserts on the menu; one of which was Reese’s Cup pie! Did the Japanese invent that? I didn’t think so. I ordered avocado sushi, which I realized too late was the only good dish. Good is not what I expect- good isn’t the superlative in the apple of my eye. I expect better. That’s why I chose it as my description. I mean, I will say it was fresh and mellow, with a cool aftertaste, yet I got the feeling “they could have done better”. I do not have the impracticality to report five stars to a one star place. And sadly, I won’t spare mercy to those restaurants- I speak the truth. Tempura, as you probably don’t know, is a dish that I really find irresistible. Deep fried, the vegetables are sweet and rich. I worship that tempura god, wherever he may be in your conventional wok. But now, I get the feeling that he overlooked my tempura dish. It was awful! It wasn’t a crisp, light coating, but a flavorless, dry one. Vegetables? It was soggy, raw, and terribly peeled- they were too thick and hard, for tempura god’s sake! I mean come on. Then came vegetable dumplings; thick, hard, plain- a slightly raw dough deathtrap, honestly. And service?! The gum under the tables does not just reflect the quality of workmanship, but it is also associated with the quality of customers. And I doubt they’re good ones (there’s the word of the day again). I rate Taipei Tokyo one star- or less. Watch out Taipei!


                                                   Enjoy your next bites,

                                                     The Tiny Tastebud


Taipei Tokyo


www.taipei-tokyo.net

14921 Shady Grove Rd # D, Rockville

(301) 738-8813