Fratelli Ristorante

We were excited to try this Italian eatery in Sandy, particularly after it earned props from City Weekly’s Best of Utah 2011. We loved the ambiance and modern décor. It is a great place to have a conversation. We didn't have to shout above the crowd. However, the food and service didn’t live up to the hype.

Spicy Girl: Starting out, I was very optimistic. The complimentary mixed bread served when we arrived was pretty good. There is olive oil and balsamic vinegar at the table to mix a dip, along with a pepper grinder.

Sweetie: I ordered a glass of the Gabbiano Chianti Riserva (Tuscany, 2003) for $6, which was not sweet. In fact it was bitter and dry. Disclaimer: I had never tried Chianti before. Fortunately, Spicy Girl graciously offered to switch wines. Hers was a Pinot noir called Latour Valmossine, (Burgandy, 2004) also $6.

Spicy Girl: I thought both wines were good. We are both fans of a good ensalada Caprese, so we decided to try the Baked Caprese Salad for $8. This dish is sort of like an over-priced bruschetta. It was baked buffalo mozzarella, Roma tomatoes and basil on top of crusty bread. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of flavor. I had to add some pepper to give it some taste. Also, it only came with three bruschetta. It would seem to make more sense to serve four.

Sweetie: Yeah, the price could have been more justified if there were four. I for once actually agree with you on the lack of flavor. It seemed to be missing something … I added balsamic vinegar to give it taste. I normally don’t like buffalo mozzarella because of the texture. Baked, however, its texture was firmer and less slimy. It was good. Why always "buffalo" before mozzarella? They don’t use that word in Italy.

Spicy Girl. Um. I don’t think there are buffalo in Italy. (Winks). Since there was nothing spicy on the menu, I decided to go for comfort food. The main courses come with soup or salad. I opted for the salad. It was a pretty good side salad. I liked the balsamic fennel dressing. However, I was a bit disappointed that the dressing wasn’t served on the side as requested. I went with the Gnocchi Di Gorgonzola, which is gnocchi (dumplings) with a gorgonzola cream sauce, spinach and walnuts for $13. The flavors mixed well but it was way too rich and heavy. I couldn’t finish my plate.

Sweetie: I thought the gnocchi was perfect. I could have eaten it all in one sitting. Because I had a big lunch, I opted for the Mixed Green Salad for $7. The best part about it were the beets. Beets are a vegetable this girl can handle, because they're sugary. However, because they're usually pickled in a can, they can taste tinny. The beats in my salad, I'm happy to say, did not. Otherwise, my salad was forgettable except for the Gorgonzola cheese, which I picked out. (I should have read the menu more closely). For some reason, I felt it was important to take a photo of the extracted bleu cheese. (See below.)

Spicy Girl: When it came time for dessert, things started to go downhill. I was eager to try the Café Fratelli, which is cappuccino with Godiva Dark liquor. However, I didn’t get to taste it because of some weird mix-up with the liquor bottles. Apparently there was Baileys in the Godiva bottle. Odd. Needless to say I decided to just order a plain old coffee.

Sweetie: I ordered the Chocobella for $6. It is chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and ganache. Divine. It was rich and delish. The peanut-buttery blob on top, sadly, is not peanut butter. It's apricot. Thumbs down.

Spicy Girl: I thought the best part of the Chocobella was the apricot on top. It was way too rich for me. One bite was plenty. The worst part was that I needed to chase this overly sweet flavor with a sip of my coffee. This was a problem because I had no coffee. The coffee ($2) we both ordered did not arrive with our dessert. When the waitress brought the dessert, she said it would be just another minute. But we did not get coffee until after the dessert plate was taken away. I thought the waitress had forgotten.

Sweetie: It was Lavazza, the Folgers of Italy -- but like that country’s men, their coffee is also superior. About the service, it was inconsistent. The water was always quickly refilled, but the wait staff was AWOL when it came time for coffee.

Spicy Girl: That was strange. I like my coffee with dessert, not several minutes after. Also, it seemed like an eternity until the check came. I was beginning to wonder if our meal was free. Maybe we came on an off night, but I certainly hope this is not the best Italian in Utah.

Sweetie: It shouldn’t have been an off night: It was a Friday night.

Fratelli is at 9236 Village Shop Drive in Sandy. It is open for lunch and dinner every day except Sunday. Here’s a link to check them out.

Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta

The title of this restaurant is self-descriptive. They do pizza, they do pasta. There is a decent selection of beer, wine and spirits. The atmosphere is sports bar meets family pizza joint -- a little loud if you are planning a romantic evening out. A dinner for two costs about $50 if you get drinks and dessert.

Sweetie: I ordered a glass of Mirassou Pinot Noir at $6 a glass. It was sweet without being overly sweet. It paired well with my pasta.

Spicy Girl: My drink was the Outlaw Red, Moab '06 for $6. It was described as "peppery." It had a little bite and a crisp fruity flavor. Before getting into the food, I thought the waitress was friendly, but the service was a bit slow. After delivering our tasty beverages, it seemed like a while before she came back to take our orders.

Sweetie: I disagree. I thought the service was just fine. I was annoyed by one of the families and their wild-ass kids running around the restaurant.

Spicy Girl: We both ordered side salads for $3.50 with the house dressing -- a creamy basil vinaigrette. The salad was HUGE for a side salad, and the dressing was good. However, you needed a knife to cut it, and it was a bit skimpy on the veggies -- nearly all lettuce, spinach, carrot slices, and onions. There was just one tomato and one cucumber. But it was redeemed by the cute and warm bread stick.

Sweetie: I thought the salad was good, but missing veggies, too. I also think the dressing, while delish, wasn't tossed well and had a tablespoon too much lobbed on top.

Spicy Girl: I agree. Next time I'll order the dressing on the side. For dinner, I had the 9" sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic pizza for $11. Normally I prefer a thick crust. But the pizzas here have a thin crust that is still soft inside, which is good too. I thought the roasted garlic was a nice touch. Still, it was a little thick on the cheese and I had to add red pepper flakes, twice (to their defense, they do have the flakes on the table and they have some pizzas with jalapenos -- I guess I was in one of those Mediterranean moods, so will try a spicy pizza next time).

Sweetie: I thought your pizza was good, Spicy Girl, and the cheese was just enough. I normally don't like feta but I guess when it melts it's less, um, goaty. The crust was also good. I picked off my roasted garlic pieces, of course. Also for $11, I ordered a special, spinach and ricotta ravioli. I was expecting something like cannelloni, but it wasn't anything like that mainly because of the creamy rose sauce that sort of overpowered the taste of the spinach and ricotta. I don't know how I feel about the sauce. I liked the creaminess but maybe it would have been better with a traditional marinara. It didn't need to be topped with Asiago cheese, either -- but I generally don't like cheese on top of cheesy pasta. The ravioli itself was huge and perfect, although as I've already explained I didn't taste much of the spinach. It tasted more cheesy than spinachy.

Spicy Girl: I agree, Sweetie, that there could have been a bit more spinach in the ravioli. The sauce was a little creamier than I was used to but did not taste too rich. I thought the parsley was a nice touch. Now, onto dessert.

Sweetie: Which is what I live for. We chose the tiramisu. It was a large rectangle. Creamy, custardy, lady fingery, and espressoy. Me likey.

Spicy Girl: I also liked the tiramisu -- always a favorite dessert of mine. I thought the presentation was beautiful and it tasted great too. My only critique is that it could have had a little more espresso flavoring.

Sweetie: Now that you bring it up, you’re right. There wasn’t enough of the “bite” that you expect from the coffee. It was still good. And when the bill came, we got to be altruistic!

Spicy Girl: Oh yeah. That is nice. This is a conscientious restaurant. They are taking donations for the Japan earthquake victims – with a raffle entry for a dollar donation. It’s good to know the management care about people. Overall, this was a fun place to get our Italian on. I give it a :)

Sweetie: Yeah, but I think it’s more Italian-American.

Here is a link to their site if you want to check them out:

http://www.saltlakepizzaandpasta.com/

They're at 1063 E. 2100 S. And are open every day, with brunch on Saturday and Sunday.