First, the food was great overall. I had the duck breast/thigh confit with fingerling potatoes and it was just terrific. The fingerling potatoes were sliced in half length-wise and were crispy outside and fluffy inside--wonderful. For a first course I had lamb carpaccio and it was very good, with excellent parmesan and arugula, although I would still choose beef carpaccio as the lamb was less flavorful. My wife had the cauliflower panna cotta (which I tasted). This dish (pure cold cauliflower custard) didn?t really float our boat. \r
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My wife absolutely loved the butternut squash tortelli, saying that she wanted to lick the plate it was so good.\r
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As to atmosphere, the bar area is unbelievably noisy and tightly packed.\r
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I?d requested a booth, and we were taken from the bar area to a dining area. The booth was very nice. Sadly, the open kitchen was right behind us. This is not your ?Mediterranean? kitchen with big brick ovens and cool stuff hanging around. This was a loud working kitchen exposed to the restaurant?very bad idea. We could hear the cooks yelling at each other about who was going to cover whose shift over the clattering cacophony of colliding pots and dishes. It really made for bad atmosphere.\r
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With respect to service, again it was strangely uneven. Our server was simultaneously strenuously considerate and cold, as if she knew she needed to be nice, but her heart wasn?t in it. Service was also very slow. It was probably 10 minutes before our drinks were delivered after ordering them, and that pattern was continued throughout dinner.\r
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I would say Pazzo has much to offer, but it may have something to do with your sense of atmosphere vs. food. If you like a nice quiet elegant experience, you won?t find it here?it?s just plain noisy. If food is all that matters, you?ll probably love it.
Pros: Great Food
Cons: Incredibly Noisy, Slow Service
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