Kendra F.
Yelp
It was Berkeley Restaurant Week and being the curious yelping foodie that I am, I had to go somewhere I hadn't been before. After looking at the special event menus for participating restaurants, I decided Passione Emporio would be great for dinner on Sunday night. The offerings on the menu sounded good, and some items would be new to my taste buds. I have a "sure, why the hell not" attitude for a lot of cuisines.
Before visiting Passione Emporio I'd never had bolognese before, so I decided to go with the Full Court Press Tier. I was at a table for two so the space on the table was limited. After trying each course I asked for a to go box to make space on the table, but I also chose this dinner knowing I'd have leftovers. The interior is cute and quaint. I especially like the red seats, and I'd say this restaurant can be intimate. Parking allat isn't hard to find in this area.
Tier 1 - I had the Rosecco wine . It was fair. I prefer red but this came with the meal.
Tier 2 - antipasto bruschetta Italiana. There were three; The first was topped with smoked salmon in a thick cream. It tasted alright but visually I just couldn't. It was worth the try, but I can be finnicky with certain foods, too, and I just didn't care for the look.
The next was topped with zucchini. That was good and i didn't expect it to be just because vegetables on bread without anything else normally wouldn't appeal to me. I love vegetables, but with a protein, in soups, salads or in pasta. Nevertheless, it was pleasant. I want to say I had the Bruschetta Toscana, but whichever bruschetta had a thicker white spread was very good. It reminded me of spinach artichoke dip but without the spinach.
Tier 3 - Pasta Flight: Gnocchi Cacio Pepe, Gnocchi Bolognese, Gnocchi Pesto. All three were delicious and I finished the Gnocchi Cacio Pepe. It was deliciously creamy. The gnocchi bolognese was new for me as I've never had bolognese sauce. I've always heard of it though. I'm a big fan of pesto so I knew upon seeing the creamy pesto it was going to be loved. Out of all three though, I actually finished the gnocchi bolognese. All three were good but the Cacio Pepe reminded me of creamy Alfredo, so that one takes the cake for me. The portions were also perfect.
Tier 4 - Pork Roasted Vegetables. I'm not big on pork unless it's bacon or a hot link, but I'll never say I don't eat it. If it's offered I'll have it. If it's part of a meal, I'll have it and had it I did. I'd rate it a 3.5 out of 5. It was a little salty for my taste but that's expected of pork. It complimented the potatoes and vegetables well though as those appeared to be roasted and didn't have much seasoning if any. In this case, the lack of seasoning for the vegetables definitely worked. If I'm cooking a saltier or more seasoned meat and serving it with vegetables, the veggies aren't getting seasoned. We gotta look out for our blood pressure people! Anyway, after a few bites this, too, was boxed. By this time I barely had any room for dessert but as soon as the waiter brought it to the table I had to have it.
Tier 5 - chocolate cake with vanilla gelato. I was full but I had to try it. I'm not even a big fan of chocolate desserts but the cake looked smooth as if the chocolate would glide against my tongue while the vanilla cooled the roof of mouth. It did just that. I'd actually have this for dessert again specifically for the chocolate cake.
My experience was really good. I got to enjoy time with one of my friends over delicious food. I'd definitely come here again. There is also a small amount of outdoor seating, but the inside is cute and worthy of dining in.