italian Archives - Curiously Carmen

Ignite Pizzeria

June 12, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part by social distancing and only going out when necessary. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

We are now in phase 2 which means restrictions are slowly lifting. It is crucial that we still limit our social circle, and wear masks when out. Yes, you may feel fine but you could be passing on the virus to someone who is immunocompromised or elderly that may not survive this virus. I know it’s summer and we want to go out and enjoy the sun, but let’s all remember to be safe and protect those most vulnerable.

Last weekend, the fiance and I were craving pizza, but not fast food pizza (although fast food pizza is delicious too!). After a great experience with Straight Outta Brooklyn pizza, we decided to look for another pizza place on DoorDash.

We browsed a few options and ended up choosing Ignite Pizzeria. However, we were a bit disappointed with it and should have gone with another place instead.

When our pizza arrived, it came in an unsealed box without a bag. In normal, non-COVID times I wouldn’t have thought twice as that is usually how pizza is delivered. But during a global pandemic, we would have felt more safe if the pizza had a sticker sealing the box or was in a stapled bag like most delivery places we order.

I realize this is a highly unlikely chance, but there are stories out there of delivery drivers coughing and spitting on food or property. Perhaps the restaurant is trying to be environmentally friendly, but to us, during a global pandemic, it made us feel iffy knowing our food could have possibly be tampered with. I asked the fiance if I was overthinking or being crazy, but he also agreed (which he doesn’t all the time) that during a pandemic, that seems a bit unsanitary.

It soured our first impression and we ended up heating the pizza in the oven again just to be safe.

So Fun(Ghi): This pizza came with tomato sauce, mozzarella, salami, and mushrooms. There was a decent amount of toppings. This was a thin crust pizza and the dough was soft and light. Out of the two, we enjoyed this pizza more.

Farmer: We also wanted to try a white based sauce, so we went with the farmer. This pizza came with alfredo sauce, mozzarella, chicken, red onions, sun dried tomatos, and pancetta.

While writing this post, I looked up the menu online for reference and just realized the menu said this pizza came with pancetta (aka pork belly)! I had no idea while eating it because it was so sparse! That was the theme of the pizza as we were quite disappointed with the lack of chicken on top. What little amount of chicken there was, was chopped in very small pieces.

Where is the chicken and pancetta (pork belly)? Lol

We were not impressed with this pizza because of how stingy they were with the toppings, but at least the alfredo sauce was tasty.

Overall, Ignite Pizzeria was disappointing. We had a DoorDash coupon so good thing we didn’t have to pay full price because it wouldn’t have been worth it.

It was quite forgettable to us and there are plenty of other pizza places out there that are better.

My rating: 2.5/5

Ask For Luigi

May 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: In light of COVID-19, I just wanted to say that I am doing my part and social distancing. This is a review based on contact-less delivery.

I know that you may want to go out and have fun, but it is crucial that we distance ourselves to slow the spread of the virus and flatten the curve before it gets worse. Yes, you may feel fine but you could be passing on the virus to someone who is immunocompromised or elderly that may not survive this virus.

This year’s anniversary was a lot different than we expected, aka we did not expect there to be a pandemic! This did not dampen our plans though, thanks to delivery. Our original plan was to order Miku’s delivery platter but we realized a day before that Miku was closed on Sundays.

After looking around on Yelp, I suggested Ask For Luigi as it’s been on my list for many years now! This place was also highly recommended by friends and other food bloggers so it’s about time I tried it out.

Ask for Luigi is located off the beaten path in East Vancouver by the industrial area just before DTES. You would not expect a delicious, intimate Italian restaurant with homemade pasta here.

Admittedly, we are no pasta or Italian food experts. After Googling most of the terms on the menu (and playing the game of ‘is this a cheese, noodle or meat?’), we placed our order.

Penne bolognese, parmesan: I decided on the penne bolognese with parmesan but substituted with pappardelle noodle instead because I was craving wide and flat noodles that day.

My bolognese was so delicious. I could see what the hype about Ask For Luigi was after my first bite. The pasta was so cheesy and creamy with a delicious tomato sauce. There was a generous portion of beef inside as well.

The homemade pappardelle was cooked to a perfect al dente.

Pappardelle, boar rago, and pecorino: I’m not sure if the fiance or I had boar before, but it was similar to pulled pork with a slightly gamier taste.

Compared to my bolognese, the fiance did not like his dish as much because it wasn’t as cheesy or creamy. The cheese had a sharper taste to it. After a quick Google search while writing this, pecorino is a type of hard sheep cheese so that explains why (I looked up all the other dishes except this one because the fiance had decided on this already).

If he knew that this was made from sheep milk, he wouldn’t have ordered it. But if you’re a fan of gamey food, I’d recommend this dish.

Overall, we were quite impressed with Ask For Luigi. The quality of the homemade pasta noodles and dishes overall was evident, even in takeout boxes without the romantic Italian atmosphere.

I can see why this place is so popular and I’m glad that we finally tried it!

Amorosa Pasta House

January 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

For our family Christmas dinner, my aunt suggested Amorosa Pasta House to try something different. I remember coming here probably 7-8 years ago, but don’t remember much of it.

Amorosa Pasta House is located in a random and not very convenient area in South Burnaby. It is your typical, neighbourhood restaurant that has probably been around for at least 20-30 years serving a large portions of Italian and Greek food. They don’t open these types of restaurants anymore!

The restaurant was quite clean and tidy. It had a warm, comforting atmosphere and seating was comfortable. Since there were 13 of us, we were given a section of the restaurant separated by a wall ledge.

Garlic bread: The garlic bread was an excellent choice from my uncle’s end. It was very garlicky, buttery, fluffy, and full of carby goodness. We ended up ordering another plate because everyone enjoyed it a lot, especially the monkeys (my two little cousins).

Pita bread: We had sooo much bread that night. Some of our orders came with a side of pita bread, so the server just gave it to us on one large plate.

House salad: Their house salad was a Greek salad but with a lot of romaine lettuce, probably because it’s cheaper. The salad came with a red wine vinaigrette sauce. The veggies were fresh and crunchy, but a few of us including myself didn’t really like the vinaigrette.

Caprese salad: Cola ordered a caprese salad, but it was disappointing. They poured way too much of the red wine vinaigrette over the salad, to the point where that was all you could taste.

Pescatore pasta: My parents split a pescatore pasta aka their seafood pasta. Unfortunately the noodles were overcooked and the sauce was very bland and watery. The portion was large, but the taste was not good.

Calamari entree: My uncle ordered the calamari entree, which came with rice, potatoes, veggies, and pita bread. The calamari was crunchy but I didn’t find it to have much flavour.

Chicken souvlaki: My chicken souvlaki was so disappointing and bad. The chicken was really bland and lacked any sort of grilled flavour… felt like I was eating boiled chicken on a skewer. I would not order this again. Ugh!

Carbonara pasta: The fiance ordered the carbonara pasta. It was quite strange because it was very saucy… almost like a carbonara pasta soup as you can see. Taste wise, it was meh…

Rack of lamb: My uncle’s rack of lamb, probably the best dinner dish that night considering the rest of ours were disappointing. The rack of lamb was very tender and flavourful. The meat fell off the bone as well.

Braised lamb: My parents also split a braised lamb, which was thankfully better than their awful watery, overcooked seafood pasta. It seems like the only dishes Amorosa does well is their lamb.

Tiramisu cake: For dessert, some of us split the tiramisu cake. Usually tiramisu is made with coffee, but they only made it with chocolate… whether that is a good or bad thing, I’m not sure. Anyways, the cake was sweet and chocolate-y.

Creme brulee: My uncle ordered the creme brulee. I wasn’t a fan of this as it didn’t taste fresh. The top sugar layer was not hardened and did not crack.

It seems like they just pre make it and take it out, but it would be nice if they freshly torched the top. The creme brulee tasted just like a custard instead.

The food was quite disappointing except for the lamb and garlic bread. The good thing about this place was that service was really friendly, attentive, and managed our large group well. I would not recommend coming here unless you like lamb.

Marcello’s Ristorante & Pizzeria

July 26, 2019 Leave a Comment

Marcello’s is one of the staple restaurants along Commercial Drive! I’ve been here a few times in the past, and wrote a review on their takeout last summer.

My experience here has always been positive so I was happy to come back when I was invited by the restaurant for dinner!

Marcello’s is located on corner of Commercial and Kitchener. The restaurant layout is long and a bit narrow, but it still fits a good number of people and suitable for larger groups.

Although it fits large groups, there is a cozy, rustic Italian vibe in here. You can also see their impressive oven which was built as a statue of a man’s face – the man’s mouth being the oven.

Since it was a nice summer evening, we sat on the patio which had many tables too.

Focaccia bread: We started with the focaccia bread, which was an excellent choice! The focaccia bread was freshly baked and served warm. The outside was crispy, while the inside was soft and doughy.

It was so heavenly, and the herbs made it taste even better! I don’t have focaccia bread often, but I’m definitely going to get it more with Marcello’s focaccia bread being the standard.

Prosciutto pizza: My pizza was called the prosciutto, but in the description, it said ham instead of prosciutto which was fine with me!

There was a very generous portion of ham on the pizza, which was much appreciated! The ham was a bit bland and could have used more salt, so I sprinkled some salt and pepper on it.

There was a generous portion of mushrooms as well which gave the pizza more flavour.

Con salsiccia pizza: The boyfriend went with the con salsiccia pizza, which came with spicy Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese.

He really enjoyed his pizza! The mozzarella cheese was thick and cheesy. Meanwhile, the spicy Italian sausage packed a good amount of spice. This pizza would be good for spice lovers!

I would recommend trying Marcello’s, one of the classic restaurants on The Drive. I am still thinking of that focaccia bread!

Yay!

Media event, meal was sponsored by restaurant. Opinions are own.

Famoso Neapolitan Pizza

June 30, 2019 Leave a Comment

It was Friday, the start of the weekend and time to treat ourselves to a delicious meal! The boyfriend and I bounced around many different restaurant ideas before deciding on Famoso because it was close by and it has been awhile since we went! I have also written posts on Famoso last year and back in 2014.

Surprisingly enough, I remember that I never used to like Neapolitan pizza. But taste buds and preferences change over the years and I love Neapolitan pizza now! I am not sure what happened but am not complaining 😉

Famoso is known for their Neapolitan style pizza, prepared in a wood fire oven. You can watch your pizza being made in the assembly line. They also have other entrees such as pasta and sandwiches but I would stick with the pizzas. We came with a few friends last year (I didn’t write a review) and the boyfriend ordered a meatball sub… it was a mistake and very disappointing!

Anyways, moving on to our visit. The restaurant was still quiet, around 5:30pm when we came in, but service was still very slow and took 10 minutes to be acknowledged.

We weren’t impressed but the service ended up drastically improving after our server finally acknowledged us.

Meat lovers pizza with vegan cheese: It’s been awhile since I have had pizza! I had to go all out and order the meat lovers, which came with ham, Italian sausage, prosciutto, and capicola.

There was a very generous amount of meat. The Italian sausage had a hint of spice which added a spicy kick to the pizza.

The Daiya vegan cheese was better than I expected. It was melted and a bit stringy, but not as stringy as regular cheese.

I liked that they had a non-dairy cheese option at no charge and would recommend trying it if you can’t have dairy.

Custom pizza: The boyfriend went with the 4 topping custom pizza. He chose caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, mozarella and meatballs.

The combination was delicious and he gobbled it up happily.

We left very satisfied and enough for leftovers the next day! Pizza leftovers are so good for some reason.

I’ve been here many times now and wouldn’t mind coming back again when a craving for Neapolitan pizza hits!

Yay!