La Strada

It doesn't hurt when you know the owners and all of the staff! We have been coming here for our pasta fix for some time. We love it and so do our kids! Great wine list to boot!
Nov 26th, 2012

Sep 7th, 2012

We just checked out La Strada this evening. It was OK. They had a lovely and varied wine list (pretty much all Italian wines), that I thought were pretty reasonably priced. There were plenty of choices in the $7-10 range. No beers on tap, which doesn't bother me, but my husband was a little bummed. The bread they bring to the table is pretty good - a foccacia, but not too heavy, and they have olive oil and Parmesan cheese (on request) to dip it in, so that was nice. Their outdoor seating area is also quite lovely, with some really whimsical strung lights over top. For the main course, my husband had saltimbocca, and I had the duck ragu. Our meals came out in less than 10 minutes. While I appreciate speedy service, this was so fast it made us believe the food was not prepared to order, but rather just sitting there.... which turned us off a little bit. My husband liked his veal, he said the flavor was "good but not great", and he thought the polenta was pretty bland. The pasta in my duck ragu was made very well - clearly housemade, and very good. The duck was also delicious, nice and tender. However, the sauce was virtually flavorless. I pretty much had to drown my meal in Parmesan cheese to make it edible. A good (tomato) sauce would go a long way to helping this dish. It has good ideas, but the sauce just falls flat. We didn't stay for dessert, as we weren't impressed with our main entrees, and probably won't be back, unless the place opened a bar area. Like I said, their wine selection was really nice. Their prices are also pretty reasonable, so if they could improve the flavor, we'd go back.
May 16th, 2008

May 11th, 2002