Salento

Dave's Take:

OK so this time I was really in the mood for some Pasta. For the few readers of this blog, it must be hard to believe but it was true. I was imagining some tasty treat like parpardelli pasta with rabiit ragu or something of the like and the from the reviews I read I was excited.
I usually expand on my reviews but I'm going to keep this one short. I will never go back to Salento. My appitizer was a meat ragu and they took that very litterally. It tasted like meat sauce from a jar. Flat and acidic. It was very dissapointing. Next up was my entree, a pork loin. I have had better roast pork at street vendors. Sauce was tastless and at the same time was overpowered by salt and pepper.

1 very disapointed Dave's out of 4

In other news, recently went to Osteria again. It was awesome but that's was already reviewed. Just thought I needed some positivity here.

Jess' Take:

What can I say? I just know how to order. While my dining companions were very unhappy with their food at Salento – I was satisfied (though not delighted as I had expected to be). I started with the Orecchiette Al' Anatra – a pasta with shredded braised duck, thyme, shaved grana. Delish. Very decadent and flavorful. And the perfect portion size, generous for a first course, but not too much.

For my second course I decided on the Coda Di Rospo, prosciutto wrapped monkfish medallions, white wine, shitake broth, mashed potatoes with leeks, sugar snap peas. Although I’ve certainly had better monkfish, the prosciutto enhanced the flavor of the dish. The monkfish itself proved to be a little chewy, when I would rather it easily break apart with my fork. Again, a good portion size. I was appropriately full without being stuffed. While my first course was excellent, alas it is not enough to bring me back to Salento.

I rate Salento a 2 out of 4. I’ll agree with Dave – if you’re in the mood for some mouthwatering Northern Italian grub, hit up Osteria.

Wade's Take:
Salento did me wrong. I didn’t even have high expectations, but this semi-new Italian place on Chestnut near Rittenhouse Square just didn’t perform.

My appetizer was octopus that was swimming in a white balsamic vinegar with onions and potatoes. It had the essence of a Genuardi’s potato salad, with tentacles. The whole dish had too much tang; the vinegar was tart and alone in its flavor. The octopus chewed slowly it my mouth, it was overcooked and rubber.

My entrée was forgettable. It took me a few moments to even recall what it was as I sat down to write this, some 4 hours later. I had the balsamico skirt steak with potato, balsamic drizzle, and green beans. Again, too tart for my taste buds. The potato was good, but nothing close to what I’ve had at any one of the eight restaurants we’ve blogged about thus far this year.

Desert was a chocolate torte with raspberry drizzle. The drizzle was canned. The cake was dense and rich… my favorite, but was so different than the rest of my meal I’m quite certain it wasn’t made on site.

Salento’s atmosphere feels like the place was just finished a few days earlier. It even still smells like fresh cut lumber. The room was vastly open, and not cozy at all. The lighting was bright, but felt artificial and harsh on the eyes.

What a complainer I am! But in a city of great eats, Salento just doesn’t shine.

One out of four tart tastes.

Hostaria Da Elio

Dave's Take:

OK- I'm going to through it out there. The traditional Philly Italian with strong Sicilian influence just isn't my thing. I didn't grow up Italian (Irish) and didn't get the deep routed nostalgia of grandma's home made gravy (red sauce). So maybe I cannot appreciate it as much, or, maybe I'm objective. I'm not from Indonesia and yet I flip over that cuisine. There is some foreshadowing here......

OK- to the food. App. I got a simple green salad. It was good. Let's move on. I didn't want pasta and my ears perked up through the seemingly endless specials when I heard bone roasted veal chop in a mushroom sauce. Hot Damn! I thought. I can get over eating baby cows if they're tasty. The food looked fantastic when it came out but was just OK. It was not great. The sauce was one of those stock reductions that was so concentrated it would have overpowered rotting trash. Very salty and way too strong. No signs of thoughtful flavoring or attention to detail. The veal was cooked well and was tender. I will give it that, but overall, it likened going to someone's house for some mediocre osso bucco. Sure, it's not going to be bad, but it can be a far cry from the deliciousness it should be. At this point I'm thinking, I'll give it an OK review, until the check came. It was $30. Now, I don't have a problem order a $30 entree, but it better be damn good, not just mediocre.

Hostaria Da Elio, may we never meet again except when I pass you to go to Gayle or Ansill. 1 out of 4 sad Dave's

Wade's Take:
Hosteria Da Elio really ended up seeming like Hosteria Da NO-NO. Yes, it’s a bad pun, but I’m not investing the time to come up with a witticism on this one. I’m just eager to pound this review out and be done with it.

We didn’t like the place. I found some tastier items on the menu, but my companions weren’t so lucky. To be fair, the specials list was immense, which gives me the sense that we might have just ordered incorrectly. However, Jess’ pasta and Dave’s entrée were strong enough missteps to warrant this so-so review.

My appetizer was a beef carpaccio with capers, greens, and a reggiano cheese. You may know my rule with capers (“nothing can go wrong when caper are involved”), and it did prove to be a strong axiom once more. The carpaccio was sliced to perfection, and well balanced with the cheese.

My entrée was a wild boar sausage, grilled well and served with asparagus and mashed potaters. The sausage pulled salty on the tongue, but the smoked flavor was on target.

The atmosphere was great at first, with a personable, well spirited hostess, small tables and laid-back feel. Then the music started. We heard all the classic Italian orchestrated staples… including the Godfather theme. I felt like we had landed in Buca di Beppo, not a legitimate mom ‘n pop Italian joint. Such a small detail would be no matter normally, but coupled with the mediocre meal it was another unexpected disappointment.

2 out of 4 specials lists.