E D.
Yelp
Avoli is an experience! It's welcoming, it's Old World, it's unpretentious, and it's delicious.
We started with Peronis and Negronis, moved on to bruschetta and Caesar salads before the main event.
It's August and tomatoes are prolific, and that's what I normally associate with bruschetta, so it might have been helpful had I read the actual description on the menu. This was a delicious surprise -- gremolata, ricotta, arugula and salmon. It was soft, cheesy and the salmon was amazing.
The Caesar salad was humongous - definitely big enough to share, with some left over. The dressing was not too strong, the Romaine crisp and the anchovies -- Yum!
Dinner choices were penne alla vodka, potato gnocchi (with a side of Italian sausage) and cacio e pepe.
Cacio e pepe is something I've been reading about on the food pages for almost two years now, and each time I've tried to make it, it tasted OK, but my pasta water always runneth over, so the result at my hands was less than optimal. Here, there seemed maybe to be a lack of pasta water, as it was more on the overcooked gummy side -- but oh, the flavor! It was amazing, and there were -0- leftovers. I would order it again in a heartbeat.
Gnocchi was a hit, and the sausage was wonderful, with just a little heat after the first bite. Together with the arugula pistachio pesto, it was delightful fare, and not overly heavy. Likewise with the penne -- not swimming in sauce, just right texture.
Wrapping up the evening, we tried the tiramisu and the budino -- a pudding dish topped with a sweet caramel sauce. While delicious, the caramel still was grainy with sugar, which made me more inclined to revel in the tiramisu, which I loved.
It took me a long time to venture to Avoli. Now, I can't wait to return!