Mushroom Risotto Mushroom Risotto

Creamy Arborio rice with sautéed mushrooms, Parmesan, and a hint of truffle oil.

Abruzzi

Abruzzi

791 8th St, 95521, Arcata, United States

Cafe • Salad • Coffee • Italian


"We started with the Cheese Board and some bread appetizers. The bread was served at room temperature, accompanied by butter and a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The Cheese Board was delightful, featuring fontina, gorgonzola, and double-cream brie, along with truffled honey, candied walnuts, and about six crostini. The crostini were perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper and tasted very fresh. The cheeses were fantastic! However, I wish there had been a few more crostini to balance out the amount of cheese. The portion was just right for sharing between two people. For our main courses, we opted for the Pesto Linguini and the Eggplant Parmesan. The pesto tasted incredibly fresh, and I appreciated that all the pasta is handmade by Pasta Luego. The Eggplant Parmesan consisted of two crispy, breaded eggplant slices served on a bed of marinara spaghetti, and it was a generous portion! Both dishes were topped with a hefty amount of fresh parmesan, which I loved. We both nearly cleaned our plates. Then, we decided to indulge in dessert. We ordered the Dessert of the Day: Affogato Chocolate Paradiso, featuring a slice of their rich, creamy chocolate paradiso cake topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a sprinkle of sea salt. Ashley poured a shot of espresso over it at the table. My stomach was protesting with every bite, but my taste buds were captivated. It was so delicious! Overall, Abruzzi offers a more refined atmosphere than most restaurants in the Arcata area, with knowledgeable and dependable service and delectable dishes."

Madera

Madera

2825 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park 94025, 94025-7065, United States

Tea • Meat • Chicken • American


"Beautiful location and ambience. The food is delicious too. Portions are fairly small but I honestly don't see one person ordering 3 different things and finishing them. We made reservations so would recommend the same. We ordered multiple dishes to share amongst our group of 5. I think we could've eaten more but also like the fact that I did not leave the restaurant super full. Among the appetizers and small bites, we got deviled eggs, oysters and tuna Crudo. I think the tuna was the best of the 3. The yolk of deviled eggs was very creamy and delicious. Oysters on the shell aren't exactly my favorite (I prefer the baked version) but they were pretty good too! From the entrees, we got the chicken, lobster frittata and the salmon. The chicken was simply the best. The sauce was amazing. The cook on the chicken was good too! Definitely recommend. The salmon was good but not as good as the chicken. The frittata was a flop. I love frittatas and I love lobster and this dish was just a fail on both bland, chunky, dry and not much to look at. Do not order this. For dessert, since we couldn't choose, we got the beignets, the poached pears with cheese crumble/cake and the sage ice cream. The sage ice cream was the best of these 3 with the pears a close second. I actually really liked the deconstructed nature of the pears and the cheese. I just loved the ice cream more because I've never had it before and it really tasted of sage with a background of pistachio. Yummy!! The beignets were not like the OG from NOLA. Much bigger and more oily than what we like. So, not something I would recommend. I also got a green drink with a bunch of greens and it was really good. I don't remember the name though. Now, pricing wise, I don't think the food was worth what we paid. It's good food but that deviled egg dish is $23, which is ridiculous. So you are paying for the name of the restaurant, the experience, the food and that Michelin star which comes and goes. I'm glad I came here once to experience their menu but it's not something that is worth a second look especially if it's your purse that's going to be lighter after the meal."