Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Restaurants Allegro opens in Midtown
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Wed, Oct 17, 2007 at 2:52 PM
Do you like traffic? If not, don't go to the new Allegro (404-888-1890) at 8 p.m. The Italian restaurant is at the end of Dutch Valley Road. It's bad enough that One Midtown Kitchen is across the street, but at 8 p.m. the Alcoholics Anonymous clubhouse on the same street hosts a meeting. It's traffic hell. There's valet parking, of course, but just getting to it can be difficult at that hour.
Once you do get a table at Allegro, you'll likely be pleased with your meal. The new central Italian restaurant's kitchen is headed by Jose Rego, formerly with Sotto Sotto and Fritti. We started with a plate of burrata -- fresh mozzarella and cream -- with tomatoes (top photo). That was followed by a plate of paccheri with speck, guanciale and roasted cauliflower in a very light cream sauce with pecorino (above).
We selected one fish entree -- halibut with roasted peppers, capers and wild oregano in a seafood broth, conveniently absorbed by a slice of bread under the fish (immediately above). We also ordered grilled chicken topped with prosciutto and fontina cheese, served with ratatouille, polenta and asparagus (right).
The only one of these dishes that was a bit problematic was the chicken -- too dry for my taste. Desserts, I'm sorry to say, weren't impressive. A fluffy limoncello "tiramisu" was tasty enough but left me craving the real thing. Zuppa inglese was better but unattractively served in what looked like a drug-store lunch-counter goblet.
I'll have a full review in next week's paper. That's not this week's paper, which comes out Wednesday, but the following Wednesday.
Comments (9)
Showing 1-9 of 9
Sounds great, but, please, if you want to make this blog all it can be, get a better camera, or work on your photoshopping, or figure out how to avoid way overexposed shots. One of the above should do the trick to help make the food that SOUNDS appealing LOOK appealing! Thanks, just trying to be constructive! Love the week in advance previews.
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I'll try it!! Maybe before 8 pm! I loved their website, it seems they have also very original other dishes
Biskuit: Out of curiosity, what kinda computer are you looking at the pics on? Part of the problem is that I'm dining at night and trying to take the pics somewhat surreptitiously. Thus I can't use natural light, and flash, on the inevitable white plate, does indeed result in over-exposure. But on my computer, the over-exposure looks corrected. Any advice is welcomed.
Cliff - I'm looking at it on a Mac running Safari, and your pictures look fine to me! I think you did a great job considering the limitations. It's a blog, for crying out loud, not Gourmet magazine!
Thanks, Jen. I asked four friends yesterday to check the pics on their own computers and they all said they looked fine too.
Hey pics aren't bad! Actually, I went there yesterday and I had an incredible experience at Allegro! They have also incredible other dishes! Thanks Cliff!
Well, if everyone else thinks the photos look great, no worries! Was just trying to offer some constructive criticism. (I\\\'ve viewed it on my laptop at work and desktop at home by the way)
The traffic or the photos would not keep me away from Allegro. I had a chance to visit this beautiful new restaurant last week and was blown away by the food. You can clearly tell by the tast that a tons of love goes into each dish. I had the ravioli and the Allegro twist on Caprese Salad (the first dish featured int his review) and was impressed from the start. Immensely enjoyed the butternut squash and sausage risotto and the rabbit ragu. We finished with the triple chocolate mousse and were in heaven, licked the martini glass it was served in clean. Not only was the service impecable, each dish we ordered was also. Try it for yourself, you will be impressed. Plus it beats the hell out of the stuffy socialite eateries around town right now. Enjoy!
I had a chance to dine at Allegro last week and was blown away by the amazing flavors and presentations of all the dishes. There have even been some changes made since my first visit two weeks ago, and they are all well recieved and worth checking out. The presentation and flavor components of their deserts has improved greatly, and the service is warm and inviting. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a unique Italian fine dining experience.
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