Mangia at Matteo's
It's been a couple weeks since the my last update, and I'm sorry to say, it ain't all good. This Coronavirus just isn't going away, and the governor had to scale back on reopening plans. Bars that don't serve food are closed again, many restaurants and even some resorts haven't come back. And the layoffs, including my restaurant. After 16 years, as the last of the original crew, I was formally let go last week. I can't say I left on my terms, but I can say at least that I left on good terms, and that wasn't always easy to come by.
What now? Well, after a four-month well-paid staycation, I have another job. Not as glamorous as my last one, but the managers are nice (I don't say that very often) and there's room for growth. But I swear, 40 minutes rounding up shopping carts in this heat is like an unholy blend of "Lawrence of Arabia", Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch, and Michael Corleone growling, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." But I shouldn't complain -- I made good money from unemployment, what I have left can go to others. But the new schedule has kept me from my restaurant roundup.
Today I had the chance to eat out again, and that came out of yet another development. I'm getting solar power for my home, and today that meant they had to replace my electric panel, which meant now power and no air conditioning for a few hours. Yes, this would be a good time to go out, and while I normally would've gone the safer route of take-out, the time meant dining in. And so I did that at Matteo's Ristorante Italiano.
Occupying the spot in the Venetian that once housed B&B Ristorante, this venture originally came in as the Factory Kitchen, an awful industrial name that belied the food quality. Now it's Matteo's, and it's a worthy successor to the previous occupant.
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Starting with the peperu, a salad with small, sweet peppers stuffed with soft cheese, surrounding an argula salad topped with grana padano cheese. Light and refreshing if you're into that sort of thing, affordable which should appeal to everyone.
I'm a sucker for pasta, especially a type I've never had before. Casonzei is a kind of ravioli, here stuffed with pork and veal, served with crispy pancetta in a sage and brown butter sauce. Excellent flavors, classic preparation.
For dessert, I made like Pete Clemenza and took the canolis. Each with orange marmalade on one end and ground pistacios on the other, more coolness when it's 110 in the shade outside.
I don't think I need have worried about spreading or catching anything, as I was the only one in there for the first hour of lunch. Obviously, I want to keep these places open and their staffs employed, and Matteo's does indeed offer take-out. But even during this crisis, one just can't substitute freshness, and getting this straight out of the kitchen just added to my pleasure.
What now? Well, after a four-month well-paid staycation, I have another job. Not as glamorous as my last one, but the managers are nice (I don't say that very often) and there's room for growth. But I swear, 40 minutes rounding up shopping carts in this heat is like an unholy blend of "Lawrence of Arabia", Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch, and Michael Corleone growling, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." But I shouldn't complain -- I made good money from unemployment, what I have left can go to others. But the new schedule has kept me from my restaurant roundup.
Today I had the chance to eat out again, and that came out of yet another development. I'm getting solar power for my home, and today that meant they had to replace my electric panel, which meant now power and no air conditioning for a few hours. Yes, this would be a good time to go out, and while I normally would've gone the safer route of take-out, the time meant dining in. And so I did that at Matteo's Ristorante Italiano.
Occupying the spot in the Venetian that once housed B&B Ristorante, this venture originally came in as the Factory Kitchen, an awful industrial name that belied the food quality. Now it's Matteo's, and it's a worthy successor to the previous occupant.
|
Starting with the peperu, a salad with small, sweet peppers stuffed with soft cheese, surrounding an argula salad topped with grana padano cheese. Light and refreshing if you're into that sort of thing, affordable which should appeal to everyone.
I'm a sucker for pasta, especially a type I've never had before. Casonzei is a kind of ravioli, here stuffed with pork and veal, served with crispy pancetta in a sage and brown butter sauce. Excellent flavors, classic preparation.
For dessert, I made like Pete Clemenza and took the canolis. Each with orange marmalade on one end and ground pistacios on the other, more coolness when it's 110 in the shade outside.
I don't think I need have worried about spreading or catching anything, as I was the only one in there for the first hour of lunch. Obviously, I want to keep these places open and their staffs employed, and Matteo's does indeed offer take-out. But even during this crisis, one just can't substitute freshness, and getting this straight out of the kitchen just added to my pleasure.