Comments on: Cafe Firenze - No Scallops Here

By: Stayce

Stayce — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:02:48 +0000

Well I took my 13 year old daughter to Cafe Firenze for dinner last night for her Birthday,it was a short 20 minute drive. We thought it would be fun to pretend we were real food critics . I have been told I have a rather sophisticated palat my daughter on the other hand thinks Burger King is the “bomb” . We both watched Top Chef and we both loved Fabio, my daughter was dissapointed he was not there. The resturant itself is beautiful! and although it is in a strip mall it really stands out as an entity of its own. I had an 8:15 reservation and although we arrived early (About 7:15) we were seated fairly quickly with only a 10 minute wait. The decore is very nice and we were seated in a corner but had full view of the Kitchen. The waiter came by within 2 minutes of us being seated and brought 2 bottles of sparkling water and asked if we would like something to drink we both opted for Lavender Scented Lemonade. The Lemonade was good not to tart not to sweet but no lavender scent, we liked it all the same. The waiter arrived with a basket of bread and dipping sauce. The bread was very good as was the sauce, it was almost like an itallian salsa. The waiter asked if we would like to start with an appetizer. We could not decide so we asked him to decide for us. He brought us the the sampler platter that had 3 appitizers. Crab Cake with some type of slaw, Vegatable napoleon with burrata and a jumbo shrimp wrapped in bacon over a pollente. I thought all 3 were very good. My daughters favorite was the Crab cake with the slaw. She had never had a Crab cake and while I thought it was very good it could have been the same Crab cake you would get in any fancy resturante. The vegetable Napoleon I thought was the best of the 3 (My daughter almost spit it out LOL). It was a very nicely grilled piece of bell pepper and a Mushroom (Shitake maybe?) with a fresh basil leaf and a nice piece of fresh buffalo Mozzerella it was drizled with a vinagret and was a little sweet. I thought all the flavors blended beautifully and the texture was nice. It was a little earthy a little creamy and I enjoyed it alot. The Shrimp was HUGE and wrapped in Bacon it was served over a creamy pollenta which my daughter and I both really liked. The Shrimp was cooked nicely and the pollenta was buttery and very good. I really wanted to try a salad but we were already getting full and we had not even ordered the main course. I could not decide if I wanted the Lamb Shank or the Butternut Squash Ravioli since it had gotten so much hype. I asked the Waiter his opinion. He said that while both were delicious the Ravioli was a little sweet since they roast the squash and crush up ameretto cookies into it. He said definatly go with the lamb shank. My daughter opted for the Chicken Fuscilli. My lamb was WONDERFUL and I was so glad I went with that. The presentation was beautiful it was served with a cheese and mushroom Gnocci. The lamb was served with some kind of Vegetable Wine sauce it had just a touch of sweetness and was absolutly wonderful. The Gnocci both my daughter and I really liked, it almost melted in my mouth, the cheese was a strong cheese but it was delish! and the mushrooms went beautifullly with it (In fact I brought home a doggie bag and im going to eat some now LOL). The Chicken Fuscilli was less impressive. My daughter liked it but she was not thrilled neither was I. I thought the pasta was a little more Al Denti then I like. It was very heavy on the Parmisian cheese which really overpowered the other flavors. It was ok but nothing spectacular. We were already stuffed but we just had to try a desert. They were having a special easter desert which was a Chocolate Brule with fresh raspberries, a buttery nut brittle and a marshmellow egg dipped in chocolate (It was supposed to be a take on Rocky Road). We could not decide between the special and the Flourless chocolate cake with gellato. Since it was my daughters birthday the waiter brought the chocolate cake and the special desert. The chocolate cake was good it was served warm and although it was ok I could not help but think we had this before maybe at Coco’s? The Gellato was fabulous I dont know if it was made in the resturant but it was very very good. Now for the disaster. The chocolate Brulle (Sigh) I love Brulle but this was like unset jello pudding. It was almost liquid and tasted like jello chocolate pudding I can’t help but think Fabio would have never let that out of his kitchen had he been there. The
chocolate dipped egg I think was store bought like Cadburry? The Brittle was the highlight of the whole desert although I am not sure if it was home made it was very good. The waiter was wonderful I give John 2 thumbs up! Overall the meal was very good a few ups a few downs but I would definatly go back.

By: Stayce

Stayce — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:32:19 +0000

I am going to Cafe Firenze tomorrow night. Although Fabio wont be there I need to do my own review of the food. I will let you all know

By: cmr

cmr — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:27:45 +0000

I ventured to cafe Firenze last Wednesday at 3:30. It was actually very quiet in the restaurant. We started with the crab cake appetizer, it was really quite good except for the pieces of shell encountered (need to do a better job of cleaning the crab!). I also had the butternut squash ravioli/tortellaci and yes it was VERY sweet but we all loved it none the less. Their mixed greens salad with carmelized onions and pomegranate/tangerine vinaigrette was less than stellar. The dressing had no taste. The lasagna was not a hearty dish that most Americans are accustomed to. I thought it tasted like some bad Ragu from the jar, the noodles were overcooked and the whole effect was a creamy mess. I would go back for the butternut and also the cold marinara dipping sauce supplied with the bread for knoshing. It was like an Italian version of Gazpacho and we all LOVED it. Considering what Fabio has in the works(see the blog on Bravo TV.com), I HOPE he can afford the time to improve upon the consistency of meals served at Cafe Firenze and stay true to his personal blog on Firenze’s website reference his ideals about cooking!!

By: Vidhya Ravi

Vidhya Ravi — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:30:57 +0000

I’m so disappointed to read this review! I loved Fabio on TOP CHEF (which is also my favorite show on TV), and hoped he would win. And if his food was anything like what I ate last time I was in Florence, I wanted to visit Cafe Firenze so badly! My husband and I may still go. I’m always trying to check out new things for possible fusion opportunities. I.e. cardamom & pistachio semifreddo — yummy!

By: Pauline

Pauline — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:05:57 +0000

Thanks for checking out this blog all the way from TX! In regards to Cafe Firenze’s prices, keep in mind that I went for lunch. I suspect the price to go up for dinner and thus less “reasonable.”

By: Elise

Elise — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:10:32 +0000

Ah yes, the infamous “This is not Top Scallops” quote will go down in history right up there with “I’m not your B… B…” :) But I want to thank you for such a wonderful review. We live in TX but my in-laws are in Hawthorne and I dread visiting, but when I found out that Fabio’s restaurant was there, I figured it would be worth a trip. We do a lot of travelling and finding great places to dine is always the fun part of it. I’m not into sweet, but dh is, so now I know I can wait for the hoopla to die down and not rush out there just yet. The good thing is that the prices seem reasonable, and the portions were worth the price, right? (Although from your photos, it didn’t look like Top Chef presentation–so maybe you were right about him not having a hand in it! LOL)
Signed… Top Chef Junkie from TX :P

By: Pauline

Pauline — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:56:42 +0000

I totally forgot about the final challenge. That does make sense! I do love my desserts, but I tend to prefer salty food over sweet.

Oh and the “bunky bed” was another great line this past season. :)

By: Natty

Natty — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:28:03 +0000

Thanks for taking one for the team– I was just blogging about maybe going down there. I might still go but it’s nice to have your take on the place.

I think Fabio has a real sweet tooth. Remember how the judges were overwhelmed by how sweet his cocktail was during his final challenge? And how he thought the error was it wasn’t sweet enough? I think he’s a fairly good cook but I love salty food and Tom loves salty food. Maybe you have a Tom palate? :-)

“I”m 30 years old and I’m sleeping in a bunky bed!”

By: tastymealsathome

tastymealsathome — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:29:44 +0000

Cool Review, We were going to check it out but I think it wouldn’t be worth it anymore. Thanks!

By: Pauline

Pauline — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:33:52 +0000

@ Max - I swear, that is my favorite quote by him.

@ MyLastBite - let me know how your revised stalking plans go. ;)

@ mooncrazy - sounds like you’re a local in the area. If you ever decide to stop by Cafe Firenze, please let me know if you get a mediocre experience, too.

@ Mike - well, since you caught me in quotes and everything… The last time I had “absolutely fantastic” calamari was at Marino (5786 Melrose, Hollywood). It’s not breaded and deep fried, which I know is a must for some people in order to enjoy calamari. The calamari at Marino had a slight smoky taste that blended nicely with the flavor of the calamari. I used to eat at Maria’s quite often back in the day. I’ll have to stop by again and see how their calamari compares to Marino’s.