Chicago - Bravo! Cucina Italiana II

Bravo!'s summer dinner special, Frutti Del Mare. Clams, mussels, prawns, and scallop tossed with egg fettucine in a light, tomato wine sauce. The clams were huge but the cleaning could be better. Of the 5 shellfish, 2 had sandy intestines. The mussels were small but tasty. 1 of the 5 had a string stuck to it. Commonplace but that should have been removed. At least, the restaurant could have been more particular with their suppliers. Frozen prawns were not a big surprise to me. They were fresh nonetheless. Two large scallops complete the melange of seafood. The scallops were the best, if you ask me.

The tomato based wine sauce went quite along the lines of the bread dip. I suspect this is some kind of a lazy coping mechanism adopted by the restaurant - one sauce fits all - but it did work well with the hand made fettucine, cooked to the mushier degree of al dente. The deep fried garlic bits came across strongly but not in an overpowering manner in the tomato sauce. The finely cut scallions in the background provided a colour and texture counterpoint to the well-done, slightly rubbery seafood and the slightly chewy noodles. The tomato bits were observable and very tasty when you put a lump in your mouth. The sauce is a little watery - perhaps from the shellfish as they become more cooked from the residual heat after they are plated - and provided a slight sauce for spooning over the pasta. I had two large tablespoons of coarsely grated parmesan. I found such parmesan more flavourful than the finely grated ones. New thing to try. The chef also applied a touch of chilli padi to the dish, cutting out all risks of any unfresh seafood smells.

Overall, it was worth the USD 13.99 (before taxes and tips) listed.

I also had a mini dessert of a shot of expresso poured over vanilla beans gelato. That was forgettable.