By This restaurant sounds like a GTA video game, doesn’t it? Well you’re certainly going to get your feelings hurt after playing with the idea of dining at this establishment. One thing I take serious is food. I’ve eaten enough and I have studied it enough to know how certain things should look and taste.
I was excited at the idea of dining at San Lorenzo, which is located off of 9th St, in Washington, D.C. This is a fairly new Italian restaurant so I wanted to make sure I was able to give this place a shot. It was raining during my travels to this restaurant and travel was heavier than normal. I called the restaurant to inform them that I’d be 15 minutes late. The hostess informed me that there’s no guarantee that your seat will be available after that time frame. You can certainly understand my road rage that I displayed when trying to get to this place. A new restaurant that opened in a great location, is probably filled with people. I certainly hoped that my table was given away, because I’m usually twenty minutes early for any dining experiences that I have. Well, as I finally get to the restaurant from driving like a GTA driver, I noticed that the place was damn near empty. What. The. Shit. Woosah.
I was able to brush off the idea, that the hostess was a trained robot, I decided to get excited about the menu. I went for some original dishes. I wanted to keep it simple because that’s what the Chef believed in. “Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophisticatio”. I decided to stick to the script. Three dishes were ordered that consisted of Calamari, Risotto, and Grilled Swordfish. The Calamari consisted of Roasted calamari, shaved brussels sprouts, and bell pepper puree. I must admit that the Calamari was pretty good. It was a bit undercooked, because it had a slimy texture to it, but ten more seconds on the grill would’ve turned this dish from mediocre to great. The Brussels Sprouts were a great addition to the dish, but you could barely taste them. They were bathed in the bell pepper puree, so the flavors of the bitter brussels sprouts can’t really be described. The Bell Pepper Puree was smooth, salty, and flavorful, but the under-cooked Calamari couldn’t be ignored.
The next dish was the Risotto. It consisted of Scallops, Lobster, Mussels, Clams, Shrimp, and Lobster Sauce. This dish sounds like it’ll be one of the best dishes I get to taste year to date. Well, I played myself. The Risotto was under-cooked and all of the seafood were cut into small pieces like I was a baby. The flavors of the sauce were amazing. Salty, creamy, and fresh. I had a huge challenge with the cost-savings that this restaurant displayed in my dish. This dish was as big as two of your hands, resembling a pouch that you throw water in to finish washing your face before you go to sleep. If you’re going to make Risotto do it right. Make sure the Rice is creamy, not crunch, and make sure the person actually believes that they’re eating every delicate item in the sea.
The last dish was the fish of the day Grilled and sauteed with Organic Kale and Spinach. The fish of the day that I chose to go for was the Swordfish. The Swordfish was no larger than my hand, but grilled to perfection. You can taste the olive oil with a hint of salt on this fish. It was flaky, and meaty, but overall had a good flavor. The Greens were sauteed and had a buttery taste to them. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to pay attention to the fact that the Kale and Spinach were Organic, but I suppose that helps sell the dish. The Greens were tender, flavorful, and fermented. I thought this dish was better suited for a child rather than an adult. The amount that was offered doesn’t match the price.
Overall, this restaurant is a pass. It’s disappointing to dine at a restaurant that’s fairly new, and feel like the food was rushed. I thought the food could have been much better, and the overall experience much more enjoyable. Instead, I was left wondering if I was eating baby food, and why was my Calamari still swimming.
SavoryTravels 