The Search is On

For close friends of mine this will come as no surprise. I love Italian food. I love everything about it. And I don't mean mere "pasta" (or, as I'm sure some of you will say, "noodles". Noodles are the egg variety, or the Asian kind. I like these, but they're different.), but the inmmense variety of traditional Italian food. What I love about Italian food (besides the mass amounts of cheese often present) is that the focus is on the ingredients. Anyone can make great Italian food as long as you have high quality products to make it. Which is perhaps where the problem is in most "traditional" Italian restaraunts. They often try to make it something it isn't. I'm looking for a great hole in the wall Italian place where I feel like I'm stepping back in time, or half way across the globe. Because really, I make a pretty mean Italian meal myself and am just as happy cooking at home if necessary.

My first attempt at finding the perfect Italian restaraunt was Cafe Milazzo on Folsom Blvd in East Sac last week. I've heard mixed reviews on the restaraunt and wanted to try it myself. A friend and I stopped by last Tuesday after my class. I was afraid that we would be too late, but even though they were cleaning up they welcomed us in. Their menu is fairly brief and basic, but honestly, I like it that way. Our server was extremely patient with us while we took a long time to decide. I decided on the ravioli special, an asparagus and cheese ravioli with a vodka cream sauce, and Emily chose the Tuscan chicken over fettucinni. We got a glass of Chianti each, and our wine was perfect start to our Italian meal. I was excited.

Foccaccia and salad are complimentary with dinner. The bread was fabulous, and served with the traditional olive oil and balsamic rather than butter. I was starving, but regardless it was still awesome bread. Our salads were good and large with a simple Italian dressing. This may seem nitpicky, but it was impossible to eat the salad without making a huge racket because the bowls didn't sit flatly on the table. Emily and I were flinging lettuce everywhere. Emily's Tuscan Chicken was good, a pounded chicken breast on a bed of fettucini and wilted spinach with red bell peppers and a cream sauce. The combination of flavors was quite good, and the spinach a nice surprise. My ravioli were good, but they came out with about 7 medium sized ravioli floating in the vodka cream sauce. It looked like pink soup. The sauce was so thin it was hard to have a bite of the ravioli and the sauce together because it kept dripping off. The ravioli themselves were good, but they tasted very similar to the kind that come out of the grocer's freezer. It wasn't very exciting.

I have to say, in perusing the menu I was rather shocked by the high prices. Price-wise they were comprable, or even more, than restaraunts such as Paragary's and Lucca's, two of my favorites. I was sincerly hoping for gigantic portions or fabulous food. I received neither. The service, however, was fantastic. Everyone was incredibly friendly and knowledgable about the food. But I just don't think the food was worth the price. They do, however, have pizza nights on Tuesdays where a slice costs only $2. Their lunch menu looks good as well, and the prices seemed all to be under $10. I'm willing to go back and try either of these options, but Cafe Milazzo just did not fulfill my search for the best Italian in Sacramento. I'm still looking though, so if you have a suggestion please let me know.