So, last night we decided to go out for dinner, it was to be my payment for working for Therapy today since the person who was marked for the shift was ill. I wanted sushi, but since it was a coldish night and L thinks of sushi as a warmer weather meal, we decided to hit up Tratorria Toscana across the street from Thaiation here in the Fenway.
When we arrived, we were greeted literally as we walked in by a server who was either starting intently out the window or just happened to have a second sense for the sudden drop in air pressure (or even temp) caused by people opening the door. The entry was cordoned off by some very heavy curtains, meant to fend off the cold air of chilly nights (which is also a fire hazard - section 6, section 34a, first comment- and if the Marshall ever came in, they would be ordered to remove them, but that's another story), and he caught us before we even split the curtain to walk in. He asked us if we were there to eat, we answered in the affirmative, and he sat us at the only table that was actually set. There were at least two, perhaps three, empty tables in better locations, but none had been reset, so we got a table right at the curtain.
The servers (there were two, and they seemed to be sharing the entire dining room, which made sense, it's a small space that probably doesn't seat more than 60 people (i'm probably being generous) and there is no real need for bussers or even more servers, in that space, more staff would have created a nightmare situation. There wasn't enough space for more staff wandering the floor; the tables were crammed together so tightly that one's conversation was fair game for anyone sitting nearby), were all over us when we first sat down, not really giving us time to peruse the menu and make up our minds regarding what we might want to eat or even drink. Looking at the wine list, I was a little disappointed at the lack of vision or interest in finding some exciting offerings as well as the pricing structure of the list. Everything was a little more expensive than it should have or needed to be. As well, there were only a few glass offerings, none of which were all that great. For a place that only had wine as the alcohol offering, one would have expected that there was more thought put into not only what was offered, but what price it was offered at. I expect that they don't move much wine, really. So, I took a glass of the 8$ primitivo (related to the Zinfandel and Crljenak Kaštelanski, a grape of Croatian origin) , which was so boring that I can't even be bothered to remember the name. Until after we ordered, the servers were all over us, hovering like vultures, unaware of the soft sell. After we ordered, they couldn't be found for anything. Meaning, our water glasses were empty less than halfway into the apps (b/c I poured all the contents of my glass into L's) and we didn't get more water until well into the second course. Odd mix of attentive, aggressive and unaware.
We ordered three courses, the antipasti, a ravioli with house-made sausage and broccoli rabe, a paparadelle with wild boar ragout, and a braised lamb shank to share. They did bring us bread and oil, which should have been the primary indication of what we were in for as far as dinner was concerned. The bread, while decent, was obviously on the old side, as it was tough in a "sat in a bowl too long without being covered" way, though good. The oil blend, however, was without any real flavor that could be addressed. It was dusted with dried Italian herbs, almost as if the chef didn't see the need in doing more than grabbing a bottle of Durkee Italian Seasoning and shaking some of the contents onto the oil. There was a little balsamic in the oil, as well. Overall, not a tremendously impressive showing of what has become Italian restaurant industry standard bread service. Still, we nibbled, as we were hungry and needed to get something into our systems. We joked about asking for butter to add some sort of flavor to the complimentary bread.
The antipasti came out, a salami and a regular and spicy sopressata; parmesan, a mild cheese that they didn't name and a gorgonzola. As well, there were little points of grilled bread drizzled with the same bland oil and dusted with the dried herbs. The salumi was fine, but all way too salty to really impress us with whatever flavor they might have been hiding. I know that cured meats are salty, but I have, in my experience, noted that the better meats have a balance of salt to them. Not so much, here. As well, in the center of the dish, there was a ramekin of vinegar cured button mushrooms and olives. The mushrooms tasted as if they had come out of a bottle I could have found in the International foods isle at Shaw's. The olives had no special quality to them at all.
Our pasta course arrived before we had even finished our antipasti, so we set it aside to sample the ravioli and paparadelle. The ravioli was deceptive in the description, reading as if it was a ravioli with a filling made of the sausage and broccoli rabe. Actually, it tasted more of a frozen ravioli with the standard ricotta filling (that was still a little cold) and topped with a sauce made from the sausage and broccoli rabe. It was a unspectacular dish with nothing that would set it apart from anything we could have managed to make with little prep time at home. My paparadelle was a little better, the ragout was nice enough, if a little on the greasy side. The pasta was well-cooked, although not tasting of home-made, did taste fresh. We both agreed that I make a better pasta than we were eating.
Finally, after setting these courses aside and getting them boxed up, our lamb arrived. The menu stated that it was a braised lamb shank, and we are both fans of lamb, so we were extremely excited about the idea of a braised shank. Braising is a means of cooking a meat so that what is normally a tough and unpleasant dining experience becomes wonderful. Fork tender and falling off the bone is what we were expecting. What we got was stringy and tough. Something that was covered in some orange tinted film of sorts. It made me think of the gelatin crap that Neo clawed off his body when removed from the Matrix or the junk that the alien clones from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", the 1978 version, had all over their bodies when they were popped from the pods. I mentioned the Neo thought to L. and was not received well. Although I still think that it was an accurate assessment. So, after digging through whatever that gunk was (it tasted like it was supposed to be some sort of sauce or something, perhaps tightened up with corn starch, as it wasn't really as concentrated with the flavors one might expect from a true reduction. Of course, the fact that it stuck to the meat like it was a parasite didn't help. The roasted potatoes that also shared plate space were fine, but came off underdone in the center, leaving them relatively undesirable. The spinach, which I didn't taste, I was told was acceptable. Digging into the lamb, we were both surprised at how unbraised it turned out to be. It was so unpleasant, we both opted to take it with us, thinking that I might be able to make more out of it than what we were delivered. (For the record, I used that lamb for a hash this morning with the potatoes and scrambled eggs. It was better than last night, but it was hard to get past the stringy toughness of the meat.) There was not a visible indicator of the meat ever having been seared before being slow-cooked. It actually didn't even seem that the meat had seen the business end of any sort of slow cooking peripheral. Everything that was supposed to break down and become heart-wrenchingly tender didn't. Braised lamb was a terrible failure and should never have been on the menu.
All through the meal, we were busy overhearing the conversation of the couple seated next to us. Close enough, really, to be our double-date. They were LOVING everything. And, at some level, I felt bad that we weren't enjoying ourselves; if only because we weren't hiding our vocalizations of our lack of satisfaction of the meal. Still, to each their own.
Perhaps, it can all be summed up with the fact that the Chef was seated behind us the entire time nibbling on misc. foods and drinking wine while chatting up what I can only guess were some pals. On a Saturday night? Really? That's what's most important? Who is in the kitchen on one of what's supposed to be the busiest nights of the week?! Hell, if he were going to be in the dining room, at least work a table or two. Fail.
In all, a meal worth forgetting. If there were a place such as the one in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", I would suggest that L. and I hit it up. Except, if we did, we might end up going there again. So, in all, please stay away if you are picky and expect more from a Tuscan eatery than satisfactory. Lucca is a better bet. They have an amazing wild boar ragout. As in, one you won't soon forget.
