Hope for the best... and get a dead fish in the tank.
Giovanni's Italian Restaurant
High Point Rd., Greensboro, NC.
My wife and I recently tried Giovanni's hoping for the best. We are in search of a great restaurant in Greensboro and so far the search has been a disappointment. Giovanni's is on our route to many locations in town. We always say "we need to try that place" as we pass the restaurant on the way to the nearby Harris Teeter. Well, now we can say "there's the dead fish place." We will get to the dead fish joke a bit later. I am sure that will be the focus of my wife's review and I can't wait to read it. For now let's just focus on the food.
The menu is a collage of Italian-American favorites including everything from calamari to manicoti. Gnocchi, by which I tend to judge all Italian restaurants, also makes an appearance but I was discouraged from ordering it by the waiter who indicated "there isn't much to it." So I decided to start with the "house-cured" salmon carpaccio with fennel salad (pet peeve #1, menu description and menu item do not match). The cured salmon arrived at the table on a bed of butchered romaine lettuce with capers, large yellow onion strips, and soaked in olive oil. The presentation left something to be desired, but sometimes the flavor makes up for it. Nope, not this time. The "house-cured" salmon tasted like it was fresh from the Harris Teeter. Did I mention it came with a fennel salad? Oh yeah, that was just on the menu. I am sure my wife will also talk about descriptions later so I will let it slide for now.
Next came the house salad. I never expect much from a house salad so we can move on to the main course, Veal Saltimbocca. I know most humane-conscious people don't eat veal, but it's a guilty pleasure of mine. The Saltimbocca swam to the table drowning in a pool of some type of broth and was unrecognizable due to the thick coating of cheese. It came with a side of penna pasta tossed in a red meat sauce. An Italian restaurant that over cooks pasta should have it's Frank Sinatra soundtrack taken away (pet peeve #2, self explanatory). I should have asked for a side of flavor, but I think that was only in the menu description as well. The mozzarella garnished with veal and prosciutto had some taste, but I didn't remember reading about the side of soup that came on top of it.
Once we finished, the waiter brought out a tray garnished with 1970's palm frawns and some Harris Teeter desserts . It might be hard to believe, but we had to pass on dessert. I figured since we had to go to the grocery store in the morning I could just get it then.
My wife and I were truly disappointed. We were hoping for some great Italian food and instead found Giovanni's. I would have to say the food is very lazy. Maybe I should explain my definition of lazy. Presentation, flavor, and quality all play an equal role in a dish. If you take short cuts you compromise the quality (sand in the mussels), the flavor (mmmm...is this mozzarella sprinkled with veal), and the presentation (did I mention a fennel salad). Giovanni's is definitely lazy.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the fish tank sushi bar. I don't want to steel my wife's thunder so I will have to let her fill you in.
High Point Rd., Greensboro, NC.
My wife and I recently tried Giovanni's hoping for the best. We are in search of a great restaurant in Greensboro and so far the search has been a disappointment. Giovanni's is on our route to many locations in town. We always say "we need to try that place" as we pass the restaurant on the way to the nearby Harris Teeter. Well, now we can say "there's the dead fish place." We will get to the dead fish joke a bit later. I am sure that will be the focus of my wife's review and I can't wait to read it. For now let's just focus on the food.
The menu is a collage of Italian-American favorites including everything from calamari to manicoti. Gnocchi, by which I tend to judge all Italian restaurants, also makes an appearance but I was discouraged from ordering it by the waiter who indicated "there isn't much to it." So I decided to start with the "house-cured" salmon carpaccio with fennel salad (pet peeve #1, menu description and menu item do not match). The cured salmon arrived at the table on a bed of butchered romaine lettuce with capers, large yellow onion strips, and soaked in olive oil. The presentation left something to be desired, but sometimes the flavor makes up for it. Nope, not this time. The "house-cured" salmon tasted like it was fresh from the Harris Teeter. Did I mention it came with a fennel salad? Oh yeah, that was just on the menu. I am sure my wife will also talk about descriptions later so I will let it slide for now.
Next came the house salad. I never expect much from a house salad so we can move on to the main course, Veal Saltimbocca. I know most humane-conscious people don't eat veal, but it's a guilty pleasure of mine. The Saltimbocca swam to the table drowning in a pool of some type of broth and was unrecognizable due to the thick coating of cheese. It came with a side of penna pasta tossed in a red meat sauce. An Italian restaurant that over cooks pasta should have it's Frank Sinatra soundtrack taken away (pet peeve #2, self explanatory). I should have asked for a side of flavor, but I think that was only in the menu description as well. The mozzarella garnished with veal and prosciutto had some taste, but I didn't remember reading about the side of soup that came on top of it.
Once we finished, the waiter brought out a tray garnished with 1970's palm frawns and some Harris Teeter desserts . It might be hard to believe, but we had to pass on dessert. I figured since we had to go to the grocery store in the morning I could just get it then.
My wife and I were truly disappointed. We were hoping for some great Italian food and instead found Giovanni's. I would have to say the food is very lazy. Maybe I should explain my definition of lazy. Presentation, flavor, and quality all play an equal role in a dish. If you take short cuts you compromise the quality (sand in the mussels), the flavor (mmmm...is this mozzarella sprinkled with veal), and the presentation (did I mention a fennel salad). Giovanni's is definitely lazy.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the fish tank sushi bar. I don't want to steel my wife's thunder so I will have to let her fill you in.
posted by Josie & Indy @ 8:53 PM
1 Comments:
At 12:27 PM,
Anonymous said…
Great work.
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