The Foodventurers chose to dine at Comensoli's Italian Bistro & Bar for the final foodie club date of 2012 on the evening of Saturday, December 8th (and at 6:00pm to be exact). The Core 5 members were in attendance - Amber, Deidre, Lindsey, Ray, and Sophie - as well as Noheya, who served as a Junior Officer at this meeting! ;-P
The atmosphere and decor of the restaurant were quite lovely. However, the tables were very close together where we were dining and when another party was seated next to us, it felt a bit crammed. Our server was friendly, but a bit on the slow side when it came to bringing out drinks and the checks.
Madame President calls the meeting to order.
Lindsey thoughtfully ponders the menu.
Ray wonders why he is the only one at the table that watches Vampire Diaries.
No appetizers were ordered on this visit. Complimentary bread was served and came out warm and often after the initial basket was delivered. However, we found it odd that the bread wasn't served with anything. Perhaps some butter or some oil for dipping? Maybe without having to specifically request it? (Some pre-packaged butter was brought to the table when we asked.)
Drinks:
Amber and Lindsey both ordered the Italian Strawberry Soda, which only rated a meh. Deidre was also disappointed in the wine-by-glass selection, but said she was excited to sample from the impressive martini menu on future visits!
Soups/Salads:
Deidre, Lindsey, and Ray each ordered a house salad with their entree. The Italian dressing is HIGHLY recommended - delicious! Amber and Sophie both ordered the Wilted Rose soup with their meals and enjoyed it.
The Wilted Rose soup - also highly recommended.
Entrees:
Amber: Crab Stuffed Ravioli in a Vodka Sauce - 7
Deidre: Crimini Ravioli - 10
Lindsey: Crab Stuffed Ravioli in a Vodka Sauce - 7
Ray: Exotic Mushroom Pasta - 9 ("But heavily underseasoned - I added lots of salt and pepper")
Sophie: Crab Stuffed Ravioli in a Vodka Sauce - 7 (Sophie also commented that her entree was underseasoned)
Crab Stuffed Ravioli in Vodka Sauce. The striping on the ravioli was neat.
Desserts:
Amber: Peanut Butter Cup - 6
Deidre: Lemon Torte - 4
Lindsey: Pumpkin Cheesecake - 6 (clearly not made in-house, though)
Ray: Molten Chocolate Cake - 4
Sophie: "Lemon Bar" aka The Server Had No Idea What This Was - 3.75
Pumpkin Cheesecake
"Lemon Bar" aka Unknown Dessert (with hint of lemon)
Our overall impression of Comensoli's is this... fill up on appetizers, salads, soups, and entrees... everything we had in those categories... delicious! However, their desserts are sub par... so skip dessert all together or go somewhere else.
Service Rating: 7
Overall Experience Rating (for this visit because it seems that everyone is willing to give the food another chance): 6.43 (an averaging of all ratings)
