Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆
Ristorante Machiavelli: Menu
Located between downtown Seattle and Capitol Hill next to many other great venues such as the Baltic Room, Bauhaus, and the Baguette Box. We were fortunate to find parking literally right in front of the restaurant, as street parking in that area is very difficult to come by (or a Honda CR-V just is short enough to fit the awkward spots). We didn't have to wait more than a few minutes to get a table as we came around 6:15, a little before the rush of customers that soon filled the restaurant.
We sat by the window facing the main street and had one of the most delicious crusty olive bread with vinaigrette to start our meal. Kevin was fortunate enough to stumble upon the slices that had the most olives in them:
Ginny and I craved for some Italian sodas as well. Both of us got orange with cream, I had forgotten how much I loved drinking this back when I worked at the Crêpe Café. Simple, sweet and smooth:
I got the Caesar salad which came out almost immediately after ordering. The croutons were baked to crispy perfection, but I found the whole salad overpowered by the amount of dressing they used (but it didn't stop me from finishing it; tasted great):
Ginny ordered the Penne with Roasted Pepper Pesto. It filled her up before she could get through half of it (but she ordered dessert anyways):
My friend Kevin had already made up his mind the night before when I showed him the menu the Linguini alla Vongole. His usual, something with seafood in it. He humored us trying to twirl the pasta into the head of the spoon without any luck. I remember watching a scene in Tampopo where a class of upper class Japanese women were being taught how to properly eat noodle. Three strands of pasta and twirl! Anyways, he finished it before Ginny and I were halfway through ours:
I was torn between their Lasagna Bolognese and the Tortellini Formaggio. I ended up with the tortellini with meat sauce. These cheesy stuffed pastas filled me up nicely without feeling like I've eaten too much or too little. Moments like these are usually hard to come by as portions are usually too big or too small for me:
I wasn't sure on how to say the word "Bolognese" so I was butchering the pronunciation as "bollo-nese" as opposed to "bollo-naise". Learned something new!
We all decided to get dessert as well. Kevin and I shared a Tiramisu, which used homemade whipped cream and chocolate mousse. At first I was intimidated by the presentation as it was different than what most of the other tiramisu I've eaten before looked like. But it was quite heavenly tasting. I was pleased with how firm the lady fingers were as opposed to most other tiramisu I've had in the past (normally drenched completely in espresso which overpowers the rest of the cake). The dollop of mousse on the top followed by a good helping of their whipped cream complimented the cake without taking attention from any part of the cake:
Ginny ordered a simple cheesecake, which was a simple cheesecake. I love the taste of cheesecake and all, but for some reason it always makes me sick (not unlike my allergic reaction to ginger which only makes me tired and numb). I envy those who can eat this without stomach problems:
By the end of dessert we were all stuffed. They really know how to give out a good portion for your order. The atmosphere felt very cozy, almost like a house or a café. I was impressed by the speed of the delivery as well as the taste of the food. If I were to visit again (which I can definitely say is a solid place to eat), I'd give their Lasagna Bolognese a go.
Also there is a 5% discount on your entire purchase if you choose to pay with cash instead. Not bad for mitigating part of our high sale tax rate.
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