Tantalized at Tosca

Last night, after guitar practice, we went to Tosca Ristorante Italiano, which is owned by the same people as Blue Corn. It had actually been years since I'd been there. I'm pretty sure that it was the last time I was there that I hadn't been driving long and on the way home I made several wrong turns. When I started seeing signs indicating which lane was heading to Virginia, I was certain I was going the wrong way. Obviously, I did make it back that night and I don't get lost nearly as often anymore. That's good, because now I have more time to go out to eat.

I ordered the ravioli special, which was a combination of prosciutto and asparagus in a pink tomato sauce. It was good, but not actually exciting. The pink tomato sauce, while good, was much stronger than anything else. It was hard to detect the prosciutto or the asparagus, other than observing the appropriately colored flecks within the cheese filling. Several years ago I had veal ravioli with a pureed mushroom sauce, which was absolutely wonderful. Even though I dislike mushrooms intensely, it's their texture that I find offensive. The flavor is fine. Again, my entree was good, but it would have been better in isolation from memories of fine food ordered in the past and of other food ordered at our table.

A good example is the carbonara. I love carbonara and Tosca does a fine job with this dish. I need to try making it at home, because from what I've heard, it's pretty easy. It's basically spaghetti with egg, cheese and bacon. It's hard to go wrong with that combination.

Our waiter, who was very attentive, told us that the gelato, sorbetto, tartufo and their bread are all shipped there directly from Italy. I was surprised to hear this of the bread, in particular, because it was so warm, soft and delicious. For dessert, I had a scoop of lemon and a scoop of coconut sorbetto, which were both quite enjoyable.

So, as usual, I want to have what someone else ordered and want to go back soon. It's the story of my life.