Leaving the Cannoli at Cantina Sicilianita

“Leave the gun, take the cannoli.”  Classic line¹.  In this case, we chose to leave the cannoli because of the overall experience.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Cantina Sicilianita had everything going for them.  They had this small, uncompromisingly good vibe about them.  And like any Sicilian would tell you, they’re not Italian cuisine even if the flavors are familiar.  I’ll be honest, I can’t tell you whether that’s true or not.  Let me just walk you through the highs and lows of our meal.

To start, we ordered the Arancini.  These are filled with Saffron risotto with panceta ragu and deep fried.  Or so they said.  Aside from being one of the worst things I’ve eaten this year, it’s just unforgivable if they fucking screw you.

First, there was absolutely no flavor to this.  Second, the menu clearly shows an order with 4 pieces.  Out came 3.  I mean, what the fuck do you want me to say?  Taste maybe subjective, but I can fucking count up to at least 4.

The Bolognese di Mario was barely better.  I wouldn’t say it was flavorless², but the pomodoro sauce was really, really light.  The pasta was at least al dente, but the meatball³ was really dry inside.

The Gamberetti Fra Diavolo was probably the best of the bunch, although Mom didn’t think much of it either.  The spicy shrimp linguine wasn’t all bad for me.  It had a tiny, tiny spicy kick to it, but not much.  The plating, although looked nice, made little sense.  Having cheese outside the plate, yeah, I don’t get it.  Better to have them in with the other grated cheese and let’s you hold the plate without getting cheese all over it.  Unless they don’t want you to share it — to which I say “Kudos!”

I really wanted to try their cannoli, which is a very Sicilian dish.  They serve it a differently from the not-so-good version of Nolita, but my mom talked me out of it⁴.  So yeah, I’m ignoring the instructions from Clemenza and leaving the cannoli this time around.