Today is Lauren's birthday and she has the whole weekend planned with her friends but today I got to spend her day on a very memorable lunch date. She has wanted to experience Il Corvo in downtown Seattle but they are only open for lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:00 -3:00 and she is always working. But today, she took the day off work so her first thought was "I can go to Il Corvo!" So we did. It is a "fast casual" type of place where you line up, order your food and then go sit at a table. The only difference with Il Corvo is that there is always a huge line, usually an hour wait. Today, it was a 1-1/2 hour wait. Why? Because it is just the best pasta in town, that's why!
We got there a little later than we planned because she opened her present from me first and that took awhile. I put together a couple of "Stitch Fix" boxes for her. She has ordered Stitch Fix in the past; you get a box of clothes from your personal stylist and you buy what you want and send back what you don't want. She doesn't get those anymore but I know she loved getting them. I feel like I have a very good feel for Lauren's taste and that I could be her personal stylists so I ordered a bunch of stuff from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale that is going on right now. Nordstrom lets you return anything so there was no fear of me ordering something Lauren might not like, I'd just return it. Well, she liked just about everything! I really nailed it!
She particularly liked the shoes and purses, which Stitch Fix never included. It was fun watching her try everything on and modeling them for me. Her favorite were these booties that ended up looking even better in real life. The gold detail on the back was a really nice touch.
She ended up wearing them to lunch. I also included a yellow purse to match a jumpsuit thinking it was just a fun item I could return but she LOVED the purse! You can see the legs of the jumpsuit above in the booties photo and see how a yellow purse would really go with it. Below, is a faux suede drape front jacket she is modeling (with the jumpsuit underneath, which don't really go together but she was just modeling the jacket.) She loved the jumpsuit and the yellow purse so that was big score!
But was it worth the wait? YES! Il Corvo has been known as the best pasta in Seattle and I recently started hearing more about it this Spring when Mike Easton, the owner and chef, opened another restaurant near our house at Alki Beach called Il Nido (which means "the Nest"). As soon as it opened, reservations were full through summer so we have not been able to go there yet. I was so curious about why it was so widely popular and then I read about Il Corvo. This was a great choice for Lauren's birthday because she hasn't been able to go because of her work schedule and I have been so curious about it after Il Nido opened at Alki Beach. Mike Easton is a James Beard Award-nominated chef so you know he has to be good.
You can see his James Beard Awards on the left from 2016 and 2017. There were plenty of places to sit down and eat once you got inside the restaurant despite the line. There was also a counter with bar stools to sit on.
The decorations were minimal but effective like these old pasta rollers neatly displayed on the wall.
The menu is also minimal, offering three pasta dishes daily. One is a regular daily dish called pappardelle alla bolognese and the other two are rotating seasonal pastas.
We were eyeing everyone's order as we waited in line to order and knew exactly what we wanted when we finally got up to the counter. At the counter, there was a display of the three kinds of pastas that were being served today so you could get a visual. Very cute.
Lauren ordered today's seasonal pasta of maccheroni gigante alla amatriciana that was actually quite spicy but Lauren likes spicy foods. The sauce is made with black pepper, dried chilis and Italian salt-cured pork. I tasted a hint of nutmeg in it, too. So flavorful! The pasta is homemade, of course, and a perfect al dente texture. I think the parmesan cheese is something special because I've never tasted such outstanding parmesan cheese, really!
I got the daily pappardelle alla bolognese which was perfect for me. I practically inhaled mine, it was so good. It wasn't as spicy as Lauren's and still had that amazing parmesan cheese. I loved it.
We also had to order some sides like the kale salad that we noticed everyone ordering and the house focaccia. I also wanted the dulce de leche shortbread cookie.
All three of these sides were so different than any other I've had. I don't even like kale but loved this salad. Again, I think it was the parmesan cheese...The salad tasted like each shred of kale was flavored with an amazing dressing or cheese or whatever, it was so good. The focaccia was not like a bread, more like a cornbread but not crumbly.
The texture was light and spongey so it was perfect to soak up the accompanied olive oil or wipe up the drippings from your pasta. I love doing that.
And for dessert, we split the short bread cookie that was like a sandwich cookie with dolce de leche cream inside.
Now, this is how I want my shortbread cookies to taste. Amazing! The butter flavor was so intense, I think he must use really good quality butter. This was almost my favorite part of the meal. I savored every bite. It was all just spectacular. I would definitely go back and stand in line again. Or maybe get lucky and get reservations at Il Nido one of these days. This was a great birthday choice and I was so happy to accompany Lauren to help her celebrate today. Bruce is out of town for work but next week we will celebrate all together when he's back. And guess where Lauren wants to go? La Rustica where we went for our anniversary last week. You can never get enough of quality Italian food and Lauren knows a good thing when she sees it (or tastes it, I should say!)
Happy Birthday, Lauren!
Comments
Post a Comment