It's All Delicious

Tiramisu

A new little Italian has opened on the Island.  Pazzo is where the old La Famiglia was (which funny enough, that tosser from Alfred’s worked the room there...maybe THAT’S why it closed...ha!), sort of behind the Island institution Sante Fe.  The owners (also own Flavors on Pope Avenue) have expanded the interior.  The place has a nice buzz to it, charming checkered table cloths, casual Italian – bit more than a pizzeria.  The menu has all the classics – the Parmigiana’s, the lasagne’s, the eggplant’s – you get the idea.  Plus and few other fancier dishes.  There’s also an evening specials board, but our waiter forgot to tell us about that.  It’s only been open a month...so there were serving teething problems!  Nothing to do with rudness..at all...in fact everyone couldn’t have been nicer!  

  Now it’s not me (I swear) – this time I went to dinner with Luke, my son, Sophie, my daughter, and Elena and Ryan, friends of Luke and Sophie’s.  The serving problems stemmed from lack of attention, and I’m not talking about waiting a little too long to take an order.  It wasn't offensive, just perhaps curious.  I thought when the entrees came out we may have had to clear the table ourselves from our starters (I almost did).  There were a few guys “hanging” around, dressed in fancy chef’s jackets folding napkins while we were still playing twister with our plates. 

Sophie and Ryan ordered the Tortellini and Lasagna.  They were the best choices of all our entrees.

Ryan's Lasagne

  We all sampled each other’s and that was the table’s decision.  I had the Calamari to start then the Veal Parm (with the thought that I wanted to see how they did the “classics”). 

Calamari Fritti

The veal was more breading than veal and the marinara sauce was on the bland side.  It was served over a bed of angel hair in a bowl...to be honest; you couldn’t tell what was in the bowl.   Luke also had veal – rollatini – I liked it, he didn’t.  He thought it was bland and tough.  Elena started with a grilled pear salad then also had veal with Parma ham...she said she liked the way I made mine better (maybe she was just buttering me up?!?)  Her salad was huge! 

Grilled Pear Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese

So was Ryan’s portion of lasagna.  So while I hate to say this but we picked the wrong things and you shouldn’t have to say that about a restaurant...they should all be the right things or not on the menu...Si? 

Still juggling our stray ten plates, plus bread, we braved it and ordered desserts...a lot of them. 

Crème brulee, cheesecake, two canolis, and tiramisu...All fresh, made in house, delizioso and beautifully presented!

Again, the desserts came out en masse but at least this time there was back up and the extra set of hands cleared our dinner plates before we had canoli-marinara or tirami-veal. 

The table consensus was...definitely go there for desserts, molto buono.  While the service was dodgy (I’m putting that down to only being open for a month it was nothing even remotely as offensive as that idiot at Alfred’s!), we all decided we would go again, but stick to the pizza and pasta dishes.  It’s mid priced   So my initial thoughts remain the same, a bit more than a pizzeria a bit less then a “proper” full blown upscale give Michael Anthony’s a run for their money sort of place.  Overall...buono...they deserve a shot.  Oh and they are open for lunch.

Pazzo Italian Café

807 William Hilton Parkway

Plantation Center

Hilton Head Island, SC

843 – 842 - 9463

It pains me to do this.  It really does.  And here’s why...a hoity toity chef friend of mine, who has every single qualification, basis, grounds, raison d’etre to be very critical of his contemporaries, rarely is (I have only heard him utter one disparaging opinion about an eatery).  His reason being “They’re just trying to make a living and it’s a hard slog.”  I was taken a back at that since I expected there to be intense competition amongst chefs; scrutinizing every little aspect of a rival’s restaurant looking for any tiny crack in the establishment sniffing out anything that was rotten.  So keeping all that in mind, this is what I have to say. 

Alfred has been around for a long time.  He’ s been known on the Island for his sauces.  Terri absolutely adored her Roasted Chilean Sea Bass over mashed potatoes, fresh spinach with a chardonnay sauce. 

Chilean Sea Bass

Mic’s escargots were tender, velvety and not over powered by too much garlic.  When he FINALLY got the bread to mop up the rest of the sauce, well, he was satisfied and happy with his first course choice. 

 For those of us (being me and David) who had never visited Alfred’s when we FINALLY (see the trend?) were given the menu, we were able to see all that was offered.  The choices were varied, but not overwhelming, pretty straight forward, something for everyone without being fussy. When the Maitre d’ FINALLY got around to taking our order, he did so churlishly (pen tapping with a “come on” attitude). When he FINALLY remembered to fill our wine glasses, he dripped wine all over the table.  When we asked for another bottle, he stood there brandishing it and announced;  “I’ll just pour.”  Not a hint of an offer to taste it or even one clean glass.

 I went with the grilled veal chop special with a mushroom demi glace.  Now I’m not being snobby, but he didn’t even ask me how I would like my veal cooked... “Chef’s temperature?” I suggested since the look I got (both hands on hips now with an eye roll) was something of a cross between I didn’t hear you and how dare you speak to me.  I was told that it came out medium “what do you expect?” and that was pretty much that.  The veal chop was cooked on the rare side of medium, which I did end up asking for and almost flipped the guy the bird (but decided to write this instead with the blessings from my dinner partners). 

So, our entrees came.  Mic ordered the halibut special with a potato crust.  David selected the sea bass based on Terri’s rave review...but wait only three dishes came out along with the proclamation from our maitre d’ that “I forgot to place his order,” pointing one of his fifteen pens in David’s face (hand still on hip and no apology).  “It will be out in three minutes, you guys can start,” he said while waving his pen at the rest of the table... No kidding!  We all looked at each other and proceeded to feed David “tapas” from our plates.

 David’s sea bass did come out in three minutes and was returned to the kithchen for another six to eight.  When it came back, it was the same piece of fish, re-plated, and still no apology. 

 It’s a tiny restaurant seating about forty and on the bland side.  Tables basic, chairs bog standard, nothing comfy at all. 

Now, based on where I was sitting I saw our imbecile of a waiter knocking back a brewsky then using the towel slung over his shoulder to wipe his mouth then bald head.  A sight like that makes one’s mind wander...and not in a pleasant direction.

I’m not saying our plates weren’t cleaned by the time we were finished.  The portions were healthy without being gluttonous.  Having said that, the salads we had as starters were thrown on the plate, not long on presentation or inspiration, Terri and I had the Gorgonzola and Spring Mix, David the Beefsteak Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella and Basil.

I guess if you’re known for your sauces and German favorites, you can overlook a few lettuce leaves?  The waiter on the other hand?  I don’t think so.  I’ll never set foot in the place again. 

To sum it up, if you go, Alfred’s is a Pray Eat Leave kind of place.   Pray you don’t get the imbecilic, rude, boorish ass that we did.  Eat what’s known to be consistent food, then Leave!

P.S. Mr. Congeniality didn’t even offer to take David’s meal off our bill...not a sniff of remorse simply a condescending smirky smile when we left.  I actually begged the boys to leave an insulting tip if one at all.

A few weeks ago the Picky Palate reviewers (me, David H, Terri and Mic) ate at EAT!  It’s a relatively new restaurant in the former building that used to be Spice (the islands only short lived Indian restaurant.)  It’s a good space, very shee-shee for Hilton Head and the lounge is down right big city-ish.  There are absolutely stunning chandeliers over the bar area.  The website www.eathhi.com has great pictures and do the place and food justice. 

We went for Tapas that evening and as you will see below over ordered by a plate.  We all left comfortably full not stuffed.  The Tapas menu offers you a choice of three small plate for $3.00 off.   Now they do have a full menu you can pick from, but that wasn’t up our alley.  The food was good.  Not great...good.  The company was great!  No one was disappointed and each one of us thought that it’s one to keep on the “short list” of places to go.   Fun for a group.  We’ve all been there before and the food is consistent.

So this is what we had...

Tomato and garlic hummus – very good and the home made chips served with it very good...you can’t go wrong with homemade chips!

Duck confit spring rolls – again...anything deep-fried...just bring it on...the sauces made this one and it was the table favorite.

Mint basil pesto gnocchi – could have skipped that – very ordinary, bland and very luke warm when it was served. - sorry no pic

Fried Green Tomatoes – they looked good and tasted good.  David H, loved them

Tuna Tartar – Fresh and FAB

Beef short ribs with Asian glaze – very good, the boys loved them. Mic’s favorite

Beef sliders with brie and pickle – slightly on the medium well side, but still – it’s a slider and slide down very easily – again, big favorite for the boys

Foie gras – just enough for a little taste each.

Our wine experts (the two that actually know something about it rather than Terri and I who just know how to drink it) called the wine list uninspiring.  We settled on the Babcock, which was a nice chardonnay.

 The only slight UGH we decided was the waiter – he was okay, a bit too “charming and seasoned.”  It felt like he was working the bill a bit and bordered on slightly pushy.  He must have been eager to get his tip since he included it himself when the bill came.  With wine, the bill was around $60.00 per person including tip...the tip that the boys added in!

Reservations are probably a good idea especially around Heritage.  It’s a good restaurant and was we all decided...you know what you are going to get so that’s always a plus!

Eat!

The Village at Wexford

1000William Hilton Parkway, Ste B-6

Hilton Head Island, SC 29928

843 785 4850

Executive Chef:  Alphonse Lee Lucier

The Picky Palate Reviewers