January 2007 –
La Conca D’Oro
7.06 - 7.5, 7.5, 7.5, 7, 7, 6.75, 6.75, 6.5
A typical cold, clear night, although not typical at all for
the season so far, greeted DP8 as we headed to the Monteverds for
pre-dinner noshing. As usual, there was a plethora of food (why
do we go out anyway?) from the ordinary cheese and crackers to
luscious fresh fruit and nuts, along with mini pizza slices and
mini dogs. We reviewed and admired the newest volume of DP8 which
showed off Judy's incredible art work -- all of us at a round
table (our favorite) in caricature. A few of us gathered at the
roaring fireplace to try and resist some of the temptation while
the girls surveyed the new bedroom furniture upstairs, along with
the newest room under “pre-construction remodeling”.
Then off we went to a group pick – local, close and already
a firm favorite of some of us, La Conca D’Oro.
We got our
favorite, round table seating, which is good here because the
acoustics are on the bad side. Our waitress, Lauren, greeted us
with a smile and the recapitulation of the dinner specials
without having to look at her pad – quite impressive given
the variety of specials. Drinks included the usual -- a couple
Diet Cokes, a pinot grigio, a carafe of the house Chianti and a
carafe of the house Merlot (after the Chianti was declared not
quite up to par). The continuation of the “Brazilian”
conversation continued over fresh hot bread from the pizza oven
and appetizers of carpaccio (raw veal marinated in lemon juice
and served with shaved parmesan) and fresh mozzarella with
sun-dried tomatoes. Food disappeared, as usual… Salads came
dressed in a variety of ways – many chose the Italian with
crumbled blue cheese, while other stayed with the tried and true
house dressing – creamy dill and garlic. Both were declared
very good.
Dinner arrived
after a comfortable wait. After much consideration (that would be
hemming and hawing), Tim settled on the Chicken Francais which he
declared excellent. Don went with a special of seafood cassoulet
with a mashed potato garnish, claiming it good but nothing to
write home about. Judy enjoyed a special of lobster contadina
(clams, mussels, shrimp and lobster over linguine in a marinara
sauce) and it disappeared and I heard no complaints. Ken went out
on a limb with the buffalo steak special, which he said was quite
good. Deb T went her normal route when it’s an option - the
scallops of course, which looked awesome. Kriss went with the
fried shrimp which she enjoyed, Chay had his usual
“Conca” dinner of shrimp fra diavlo over linguine which
I know he always enjoys. Deb K, after some hemming and hawing of
her own, went with one of her regular favorites, stuff sole parm
– yum.
You would think
after all that food there would be no room for dessert and some
made the choice of abstaining – sissies I say!!! There were
those of us however, who enjoyed the chocolate lava cake
(awesome), chocolate mousse (just right after that meal), white
chocolate covered raspberry sorbet (good), apple crisp (not that
crisp said Kenny, a bit of a disappointment) or, in the
alternative, their regular after dinner drinks – Frangelica
and Sambuca.
The Up Side
Always an up side is the company
– the laughter, the catching up, the stories, the
“waxing” education. I thought Lauren did a great job,
one of our better servers in DP8 history – efficient, good
at refilling the coffee (she got the hint right away which is
more than I can say for previous servers) and the water glasses,
friendly and even able to banter back and forth a bit with those
of us that get a little rambunctious at dinner! Overall, food was
good to great – always a plus. And the price tag came in
under a $100 a couple, not bad for a first rate meal.
The Down Side
It was dark that night
– in the restaurant, I mean, more so than usual many of us
thought, which made it hard for us “old people” to read
the menu (some of us even borrowed Ken’s magnifier/light).
Ken’s dessert was less than perfect and, as customary at
Conca, the noise level is always a problem. However, with the
corner round table, we insulated ourselves from that to the
greatest extent possible.
----------------------------
It appears unanimous that La Conca D’Oro will remain a staple in many of our dining choices. The food, service and proximity to home make it an easy ‘go to’ decision for fine dining.