Linguine With Seafood Linguine With Seafood
Carmella's Plates and Pints

Carmella's Plates and Pints

1908 E Carson StPA 15203, Pittsburgh, United States

American • Bar-lounge • Breakfast-brunch • Delivery Services


"Honestly, I'm so bummed. I had been wanting to try this place for a LONG time. Finally got around to going. We had a reservation for 630pm, they took us right away. Wasn't very busy at all when we got there (although it did fill up towards the end of themeal). I started with a beer off the tap, it was delicious and they did have a decent beer selection. We started with the cheeseplate appetizer. Out of the 4 or 5 cheeses maybe 1 (cheddar) was really good, the rest were just ok, as one person said beforethe bread etc that accompanied the cheese was scarce...but again, appetizer. For dinner we both ordered the lobster shrimpbutter risotto. The risotto was mush and the lobster seemed like it was cooked twice over. Small lobster to begin withespecially for almost 40 dollars. The flavor was decent of the risotto but it was OVERPOWERED with fennel. So much so that mywife had to stop eating it halfway through because all she could taste was the licorice. We ordered the peach bread pudding fordessert. Ice cream was good, the bread pudding was too bread like, not enough milk or moisture. Seemed more pound cakey thanbread pudding. And there wasn't a peach or peach flavor to be found. The bill came and it was pricey! We don't normally look atthe cost of things...if we're going out, we're going out...but this was enough to jump off the page for what we ate. I wanted tocome have a pour of bourbon, but to be honest I was so taken back by the pure disappointment dish after dish, that I wouldn'thave enjoyed it so I just said nvm. We won't be back and I'm deeply disappointed by that."

Mercato Kitchen

Mercato Kitchen

108 North Aurora Street, Ithaca, NY 14850, City of Ithaca, United States

Wine • Soup • Kitchen • Italian


"My girlfriend and I decided to take a romantic getaway on the finger lakes and our drive had us passing through Ithaca, so we decided to stop for dinner. A good friend recommended this place, and admittedly I was skeptical of Italian food this far from New York City, but I trust their recommendations and decided to give it a try. I am so glad that I did. For our wine selection, our server allowed us to sample one of the wines by the glass, which tasted thin. When we described what we wanted, she came back with a reasonably priced bottle that exactly hit the deep red notes that we were looking for (see the picture for the winery vintage if interested . We started with the crostini sampler. In my opinion, the Caponata was the best, but they were all interesting to try and I was glad we got all three. As a nice touch, they cut each crostini in half so my girlfriend and I could both easily sample each one. For dinner, I had the grilled hanger steak, which came with rapini and shoestring fries. I admittedly gave an annoyingly long description of how I wanted it cooked (essentially rare+ and they nailed it. The steak was fantastic, but the accompaniments were so good that they almost stole the show. The shoestring fries’ rosemary seasoning was a fun twist and the rapini was both familiar (garlic and olive oil and excitingly different. For dessert, I had what was essentially espresso mousse with graham crackers and a glass of dessert wine. While probably the weakest course, it was still a delicious way to cap an amazing meal. The mousse required a bit more texture, but fortunately they provided graham crackers on the side (which I suggest crumbling into the mousse . I’d highly recommend checking this place out if you happen to be in the area."