Because I don't want to start my paper...Volare!

So I have not updated this blog in a while...a long while. This is what a combined total of 5 weeks worth of midterms has done to me. Sigh.

Volare: Went here with friends because we wanted to watch Iron Man 2 on the weekend it came out (it was decently good as a sequel, but the first one better I thought--Robert Downey Jr. of course, was funny as always). I saw this restaurant on Yelp, and decided on this one because it got decent reviews. So, here goes.

First off, the bread. I did not like the bread, because it was not warm. Not only that but the bread was not even good bread (definition of good bread: soft, crusty and chewy--the bread in Volare was spongy, cold and hard), which may be acceptable when not warm. Anyway, to the food...

Zuppetta de Cozze al Vino Bianco o al Pomodoro (of course I--we--picked the vino over the pomodoro): I really liked this dish, because the mussels were soaked in the buttery, white wine sauce, which made the bad bread (see above) good. In addition, soaked in the sauce (of which there was a lot of) was a piece of crusty bread SOAKED in buttery, winey, mussel-y goodness. I feel like they cooked the bread with the mussels, and that bread was the best part of that dish.

Fritto di Calamari: Calamari to me is just what it is--fried squid. Nothing really special, since it's really difficult to mess up calamari--it just has to be hot and crisp. This calamari passed my test on both counts. Nothing spectacular, so I shall move on.

Salmonata (with fettucini): Probably the best pasta that we ordered, in my opinion. The salmon was good and savory, which went well with the creamy sauce such that the pasta was not sickening (which is what happens with a lot of cream sauces most of the time).

Vodka (with hand-made gnocchi): probably my least favorite among the pastas that we ate, which was partly my fault since I picked gnocchi as the pasta in the heat of the moment (and since I didn't think the sauce was really going to be that heavy...). In any case, the creaminess of the pasta and the heaviness of the gnocchi was a bad combination. Also, there was no "vodka flavor" to the pasta, which was disappointing--I mean, obviously the alcohol evaporates but there should still be some type of flavor imparted into the sauce right?

Arrabbiata (with angel hair noodles): In my opinion, the sauce was too acidic, and did not have the depth of flavor that I would generally attribute to an arrabbiata which is gained through the noticable appearance of pancetta and garlic in the sauce. For this sauce, I was so focused on the acidity of the tomatoes that I could not discern any pancetta at all, or any garlic taste. It really makes me want to cook a decent arrabbiata just to have the satisfaction of eating one that was done correctly.

Overall, we were full (no room for dessert) and enjoyed ourselves (good company). I must say that I was rather underwhelmed and disappointed to some degree about the food, which was not that cheap either. Maybe I'm just too harsh on Italian food--the large quantity of Italian restaurants in the Philippines makes me a very discerning eater.