Just before Christmas, my mum had an operation on her knee. It was under general anaethestic so she needed someone to watch her afterwards to ensure she didn't blow up or something like that. She was due to go out for dinner with her friends for a catch up, and as she doesn't see them that often, I thought it'd be a good idea for her to go, but obviously I couldn't let her go on her own as she might spontaneously combust, or something like that. This meant I got to have a nice meal out too!
Although Prezzo is a chain, I have been to several and the quality does seem to differ between them, so I've made it clear which one we visited in the title. While we waited for the rest of the group to arrive, we ordered some breads and olives to share as a group - I insisted on getting the Pane con cipolla (garlic pizza bread with caramelised balsamic onions and melted mozzarella cheese) because I've had it before and it's really good. It's also large enough to share although people seemed more concerned with chatting so I got to eat most of it!
For starters, I decided to go for something I'd not tried before - Arancini. These are described as crispy risotto balls with mushrooms, grana padano and mozzarella cheese with a tomato chilli dip. I think it would have benefited with some leaves or something to make it look more interesting, but the taste was good, and it was definitely something different and I'd consider it again.
Mum went for the bruschetta and I stole a bit of that. I liked the way it looked, with the yellow cherry tomatoes making it a complete traffic light of colours. The description on the menu definitely mentions red onion though, and I can't see any in the photo.
Prezzo does a lighter option for the mains, which I decided to go for as I'd already had a lot of food considering the amount of pre-starter I'd eaten. I went for the Goat's Cheese flatbread with side salad, and although it was the lighter option, it did look a little bit sparse on the toppings. It was still tasty though and I felt extra virtuous for going for the healthy option.
Mum was struggling to find something to eat as she's not a fan of spice, and wont eat creamy things. She settled on the Chicken and Roasted Pepper Fusilli and salad, and again, this was a bit sparse, with only two or three bits of chicken in it.
Noone opted for the strange special of the evening which had me giggling.
Having been so virtuous with the main course, I decided that meant I could eat cheesecake for dessert! I did regret this though, because cheesecake makes me sick but my brain goes crazy when eating out.
8 comments:
That bruschetta looks fab - even if the person putting the topping on missed the bread!!!
Um, "baby meat ravioli". And nobody went for it? Surprising!!!
And I'm wallowing in nostalgia at a menu that actually features veggie options. That doesn't happen here! I have to read through the menu and work out what is the easiest thing to ask them to make but leaving out the meat.................. still, I suppose when you're a vegetarian living in the self-appointed culinary capital of the solar system, it's only to be expected!!
I'm used to brushetta being topped too, and not just having it thrown on a plate with bread, but I guess it works out the same when you eat it.
I am still astounded that they didn't think baby meat ravioli was a terrible way to phrase the special.
Ian's very anti-vegetarian so he'd approve of france (apart from him possibly being anti-french too!) but I can understand the frustration - how accommodating are they of the no meat requests? Do they just look at you funny?
The French just don't get vegetarianism at all. They either think you're doing it for medical reasons (your doctor has told you you'll die if you eat meat) or because you're mentally ill. Also, the "categories" are different here. They don't have vegetarian and vegan in the way that they're defined in the UK, so the French regard fish as a vegetable!!!!!
Actually, what irritates me more than anything is the attitude. France regards itself as the culinary capital of the solar system and what the French don't know about food isn't worth knowing. We once went into a rather smart restaurant before lunch and asked if they could produce a vegetarian dinner if we came in at 8 o'clock that evening. We did all the explanations of what I do and don't eat and they said they could do it. Some eight hours later, they offered me an omelette with some veg on the side. Culinary capital of the solar system? Yeah, right!
Wow, that really is bad - I could do better than that and I'm by no means a culinary capital standard chef!
I think your Mum would have survived if you'd let her friends look after her :P And I think the starter looks great without all that wasted greenery that no one is going to eat anyway :)
The lack of toppings on your Mum's pasta is pretty shocking, they seem to have made the dish less calories just by serving less of it! The cheesecake looked epic, not surprised it made you ill, when will you learn?! :)
And before you say anything, I'm commenting multiple times because I can't see the post while I'm writing my comment and I can't remember everything you said in one go :D
It's good - I feel more popular with all these comments! The cheesecake was pretty big and very rich. And no, my mum definitely needed an escort to ensure her arms and legs didn't fall off or something! :D
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