Sunday, November 11, 2007

L'Andana: Three Times in Three Weeks

I returned to L'Andana, my third visit in the three weeks since its opening. Reviews of my first and second visits are on my blog. So, was my third visit as good as the previous two?

The menu has changed a little bit again. They removed the Cod saute dish and added two Al Forno entrees, a Pork Shank and a Monkfish. They made a couple other minor changes as well.

We began with the Bruschetta ($15) with veal sweetbreads, rosemary spiedini, foie gras toast and a marsala glaze. This was quite a large dish of crispy and tasty sweetbreads. You may get turned off by the idea of sweetbreads but if you did not know what you were eating, you would love this dish. All of the flavors blend quite well together to make a delicious whole.

Also began with a small dish of the Maccheroncelli ($14), which used to be their spaghetti and meatballs. They just changed the type of pasta. Now you get home-made pasta tubes with two Wagyu meatballs in a Chianti sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly. The meatballs are firm and meaty. They don't fillers. The sauce was incredible, just so delicious. They definitely make great pasta dishes.

For entrees, we chose a couple grill entrees. You get a large portion of the Salmon ($29), with a tasty sweet glaze. This came with roasted fall fruits and caramelized squash. The 8 oz. Filet Mignon ($38) was perfectly grilled, extremely tender and flavorful. This Filet could compete with any steakhouse. It was cooked rare, as requested, and had some Gorgonzola atop it. It came with a roasted potato that was good.

For dessert, we split a Torta de Cioccolato, a warm chocolate cake with a creamy pudding interior. This was accompanied by a scoop of honey vanilla gelato and some salted caramel sauce. A decadently delicious dessert that is sure to please chocolate lovers.

The food again was superb. I have not had any dish that I have disliked. And there is still plenty of dishes that I want to try.

Service was very good, with a couple minor misteps. For one, our server failed to inform us about an appetizer special they were serving. I heard another server telling people about the scallop appetizer. Service though has generally improved since my last visit. These minor issues are all typical for a new restaurant and I am still sure matters will be fixed soon enough.

I am definitely a big fan of L'Andana and certainly highly recommend it.

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