Bice Ristorante, Orlando

During our summer holidays to the States the pick of the meals in Orlando was had in Bice Ristorante set in the Portofino Bay resort of Universal Orlando. The restaurant is part of a network of restaurants founded in Milan over 90 years ago. The seaside Italian village setting of Portofino Bay was certainly an ideal location for the restaurant which with its ceilings and classic interior exuded a cool charm. 

Being the first leg of our trip we were conscious of budgeting, especially with New York being the destination for the second half of the trip. We were in luck as September was billed as the ‘Magical Dining Month’ with many Orlando restaurants offering tempting set price menus at the very reasonable price of $33 for three courses (approx. £21).

The a la carte options had teasing options such as veal shank for $48 (£30) but we stuck with the set menu. The starters included spinach salad with roasted maple leaf duck confit, grilled pears, toasted almond raspberry vinaigrette and porcini and black truffle risotto served in a Parmigiano phyllo dough basket.

Mrs Nom enjoyed the salad and declared it incredibly well dressed. My porcini  and truffle risotto was pungently fragrant with the right bite as well as being a generous portion, so much so that I had to leave most of the basket.

My main was center cut pork chop Milanese with Sicilian eggplant caponata, topped with grilled pineapple, papaya, hearts of palm and Roma tomatoes. The fried pork chop sizable and not the best choice combined with the risotto as I struggled to finish it. I enjoyed the eggplant and tomatoes but less so the accompanying papaya, the flavours didn’t seem to mix well to me.

Mr Nom chose agnolotti filled with Maine lobster and ricotta cheese served in a Tarragon pink vodka cream serve and asparagus tips which she quickly polished off, the small sample I managed to obtain revealed light pasta with a superb rich filling.

We couldn't pass up dessert and apple strudel ala mode rum chocolate coffee cake with nutella filling provided agood end to the meal.

Service was very attentive with waiters in cream jackets, how they kept them clean I'll never know. Due to Mrs Noms overuse of the credit card earlier on in the day it was blocked for unusual behavior and we were discreetly informed as to not cause embarrassment, not that we would be that bothered but some certainly would create a scene. Probably one of the more high end restaurants of the family orientated Universal resort and recommended for a hearty Italian meal.

Moretti Gran Tour, Manchester

We were invited to the Manchester leg of the Moretti Gran Tour held by Birra Moretti featuring some of the top Italian street food vendors from London in conjunction with beer from the hosts. Held at the old Granada Studios the event was mainly indoors with a few stalls outside. Although I’m not a keen drinker of beer, Mr Nom was happily gulping down bottles of Birra Moretti in the hot weather.

Instead I was more interested in the street food on offer which included arancini balls by Arancini Brothers The porcini and taleggio was our favourite of the two on offer, the other containing tomato, saffron and mozzarella.

Pasta e Basta served up two variations of gnocchi, a beetroot version for the veggies and one with slow braised pork shoulder. I enjoyed the beetroot gnocchi more out of the two especially because of the creamy gorgonzola sauce.

Our favourite stall had to be Gurmetti who served up torta frittas. Extremely light puffed dough topped with thinly sliced pork cheek and served with parmesan cheese on the side. This was the only stall where we had seconds and we will be sure to visit them on Leather Lane next time we are down in London. 

The Cheeky Italian were serving panzerotti fritti. Deep fried calzone to order with pork & beef meatballs, tomato sauce and fontina cheese, the casing looked really heavy but it was lighter than expected. 

Outside Pizza Pilgrims were whipping up margarita pizzas. Although amazingly we witnessed that some people felt the two minute wait for the pizza to cook in the wood fired oven was too long and joined other queues which were even longer!  We weren’t complaining however as it meant we got our pizza fix quicker. The most popular stall of the night was probably Forza Win serving up porchetta sandwiches, the glistening and charred meat looked good on the spit roast but we were too full to try it.

Onto dessert which was provided by the popular Gelupo, which has to be some of the best gelato I’ve had in the UK. I was craving this the minute I saw the stall but I knew I had to try the savoury food first. I was a bit greedy and ordered three flavours during the first visit. All the flavours were too tempting so I requested smaller scoops of melon, which was so pure and my favourite, mint stracciatella and pistachio. I made Mr Nom go back for seconds. However to my surprise he came back with full sized scoops of ricotta & sour cherry and blood orange which were ideal to cool off in the sun.

What a great event it was, it gave us a little taste of Italy and if this is what we can expect to find in Italy then it will be high on our next holiday list. 

Little Italy, Liverpool

Little Italy is the latest venture by the guys behind Tribeca and Neon Jamon. It is situated in the former function room of Tribeca on Smithdown Road. Hot on the heels of Salt House Bacaro in the city centre comes this Italian small plates eatery. Bright and airy a tree dominates the centre of the room with chipboard wall decor. Things began with a nod to its Spanish big brother in the form of Estrella on draught, although I would of preferred to see an Italian beer on offer.

Baccala & langoustine ravioli with sage butter. The ravioli was filled with salt cod and langoustine however the pasta was a little thick and could of been lighter as the texture masked the delicate filling.

Beef shin pappardelle, slow cooked Tuscan beef shin pasta and pecorino cheese. This was the star dish for me. The pasta was firm and dreamy and worked wonderfully with the beef shin. To be ultra picky it was doused in a little too much oil.

We made a schoolboy error and ordered two similar dishes. Pigeon & hedgerow salad with blackberries, blood orange, hazelnuts & watercress and swordfish carpaccio with orange, fennel and rosemary dressing. Both dishes were buried under a mound of watercress which was unnecessary. The pigeon was seared well and the swordfish paired nicely with the dressing.

Pork & veal meatball sliders, brioche buns with Napoli sauce, buffalo mozzarella & basil. These were a treat, the pork and veal meatballs were a delight, the sauce and mozzerella simply combined flawlessly. I wish I could order a full burger size!

Chicken liver & rosemary skewers with a radish vinaigrette. This dish failed to live up to its billing, the grilled liver didn't pick up the rosemary or radish flavours.

Overall, I think I prefer Spanish tapas to Italian small plates which just do not have the same impact. With Italian larger portions seem to work better especially for pasta. However its good to have variety in South Liverpool and this new venture is sure to become a neighbourhood favourite just like Neon Jamon. 

San Carlo Cicchetti, Manchester

San Carlo Cicchetti has always been a place on our agenda and surprisingly Mr Nom chose it as the nights venue as we walked past House of Fraser on Deansgate. Italian small plates as opposed to the usual starter and main format however the portion sizes were bigger than expected but we just about polished off all of the dishes. 

The first dish to arrive was duck salad, it was flavourful with pancetta and the apple balanced the dish really well with the sweetness coming through the saltiness. We had to order a pasta dish from an Italian restaurant, especially as I couldn’t remember the last time I had pasta of any description. I was looking forward to the pappardelle. There was just enough sauce to coat the fresh pasta and the fragrant truffle running through the dish. 

The suckling pig was enjoyable although I regret leaving it too late to eat. As it cooled the meat became a little tough but the meat was well flavoured with a hint of rosemary, simple yet tasty. 

The halibut was slightly bland for me but I liked the crunch from the samphire although Mr Nom thought the seasoning was about right. The lamb cutlets with a tomato sauce were cooked well although there wasn’t much to it. We also ordered a side portion of roast sweet potato which came topped with heaps of pancetta.

Dessert was not needed although we did share a pannacotta. A powerful scent of vanilla was running through the pannacotta although I wasn’t complaining because I love vanilla with berries. We finished the meal with a latte for me and a cappuccino for Mr Nom, and by end I didn't want to move because I was full to the brim.

It was simple cooking at Cicchetti with subtle flavours and enthusiastic service to match. The decor inside was bright and airy which is what I like in restaurants as dim lights sends me to sleep. 

Cheap eats in Westfield Stratford, London

There is a wide array of food choices at Westfield Stratford; it makes a mockery of the food court options available at The Trafford Centre. This post is a summary of cheap eats which can be had for around a tenner, as explored by yours truly during some recent work trips. It’s not all fine dining and it helps to balance out the more expensive meals.

The hierarchical structure of the food options at Westfield Stratford are quite defined, on the top floor you can find the usual chain restaurants such as TGI, Nandos, Giraffe along with an All Star Lanes. Outside in ‘the Street’ area more interesting options include Wahaca and Busaba Eatthai. The second floor will be the main focus of this post with good low to mid end options at affordable prices. This post does not cover the Great Eastern area around Waitrose with the likes of Umai by Japan Centre and Arancini Italian Deli as I simply haven’t got round to trying them yet.

There is an abundance of different types of cuisine at the ‘World Food Court’ area as the name would suggest. The pick of the bunch for me would probably be Pho (both the name of the store which multiple sites in London and the Vietnamese national dish). Here I tried the Pho Chin, beef brisket in a rich stock soup and rice noodles served with beansprouts, coriander and chilli. The broth was deep and meaty although the beef was not as tender as advertised. To accompany this I had a side dish of Nem Hai San, a spring roll filled with tiger prawn, crab and pork. This was better than the main event and I could have happily polished off a couple more.

For pizza Franco Manca is the obvious choice, sporting two wood fired ovens. I was impressed from my visit to their Chiswick pizzeria but was let down on this visit. I ordered the Gloucester old spot ham, mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, wild mushrooms and little tomato. The sourdough base this time was undercooked and this was magnified by the lack of tomato, probably due to the fast moving nature of food courts but no excuse to make sure that quality isn’t maintained.

Rhythm Kitchen serves up Caribbean fare and there was only going to be one choice for from the menu for me, jerk chicken. I chose rice and chips from the optional sides, however the chicken was only luke warm, quite disappointing as there is a visible grill smoking away with meaty goodness to entice customers. The jerk sauce also didn’t pack enough of a kick for me, which maybe toned down for the mall audience.

A fast food area can be found on the ground floor with the usual suspects of international chains along with a favourite of mine, Olive Oil & Oregano, a Greek chain. For less than a fiver I had a pork pitta wrap that equalled any of the above for comfort food. If only they had a branch up North next to my office, I think I would be there every day for lunch.

All of the above was paid for in full by myself and is in no way an advertorial for Westfield Stratford or any of the named eateries despite what it might seem. It is simply my experience of eating around the food courts.