The thing which struck me most about this restaurant was the high standard of service; not only were the employees well-trained, efficient, and attentive, they were actually friendly, something we seldom see at high-end, expensive restaurants.
Galileo is located in the ground level of a West End downtown office building. They have their own canopy and valet parking. As we entered, a large bar on our right occupied most of the street window space, and coat check and the attendant were on the left. A hostess was in place at the maitre d' stand to confirm our reservation, and immediately we were greeted by name by the dining room manager and a waiter led us to our table. The dining room was teeming with male waiters, all dressed in dark navy blue suits with an assortment of shirts and ties. During the course of the evening, I found it interesting how cooperatively the waiters worked, with everyone helping everyone else, regardless of whose table it was. The restaurant's dress code is business casual, but I'm glad I had on a sports jacket and tie, because almost all of the men in the dining room were in jackets and ties.
For some reason, the three of us were all on an economy binge tonight, so we opted to have cocktails here at the condo before walking over to the restaurant for our 9:15 reservation. A couple of years ago, I was given a bottle of 2000 R. H. Phillips Toasted Head Chardonnay which I'd been saving for a special occasion, and it seemed appropriate to cork it for tonight. It was an excellent chardonnay. It was very full bodied, rich, and toasty-tasting with substantial oompf to it, yet it was wonderfully creamy, smooth and buttery going down. Leo claims an allergy to white wine (but not red), so he drank a glass of it, and then switched to Wild Turkey and water on the rocks, leaving that much more of the delicious wine for Dale and me. Of course, once we got to the restaurant, what was the first thing Leo ordered? A glass of house chardonnay—a white wine!
The menus at Galileo are lengthy. I got the impression that they were one of the handful of restaurants that put their entire menu on the Restaurant Week list, especially since there were a couple of meat entrees which indicated a supplemental charge. Now, a typical Italian meal would be four courses, but they arranged things in such a way as to accommodate the Restaurant Week concept of three courses. If you go to Galileo at a time outside of Restaurant Week, be brave of heart: this is a pricey place, warranting its designation as "very expensive" in several guide books. In fact, my first course alone cost more than the $30.06 special price, and had I paid full price for everything, my three mid-priced dishes plus bottled Italian spring water would retail at $83.50, exclusive of taxes and gratuities.
I started with the risotto alla pilota con costine di maiale al forno, a creamy rice risotto with tiny pieces of fresh salami and cabbage in it, scented with black truffle oil, and with a little crispy, roasted pork rib on top. The risotto was exquisite. The flavors were so nicely melded and the rice was perfectly done. Everyone at the table sampled it and liked it. Dale had I gamberoni saltati con sedano rapa e carote brasate con salsa all'aglio, which was one, great big, head-on shrimp sauteed and served with a nest of shredded, braised root vegetables; a garlic beurre blanc sauce was drizzled all over the plate around the shrimp and vegetables, which he said he liked. Were I paying individually for this first course, I'm not sure I would have felt that $27 was a good value for just one shrimp, but I guess that wasn't an issue tonight. Leo had il cotechino con lenticchie e salsa verde, an interesting homemade Cotechino sausage served on a a bed of lentils and drizzled with salsa verde. He didn't like the sausage at all, so Dale and I each got to taste it. I actually liked it, even though I'm usually not a fan of the anise seed taste that is so common in Italian sausages; it was juicy and exploding with flavor; because it was a freshly made sausage, it wasn't really firmly solid and it had a texture reminiscent of a not-yet-set terrine, so I think that was the aspect that Leo didn't like. It was surprising that he ordered this item in the first place, since he tends not to like the more exotic western European spicings and he usually orders seafood instead of pork.
Edit: Leo says: "The sausage wasn't bad at all, but.....the whole dish was a bit too 'home food' for me."Our second courses were equally interesting. I had il branzino con cipolle brasate, pignoli e uvetta allo zafferano con spinaci saltati, the sautéed filet of Mediterranean sea bass, which came with braised onions, raisins, and pine nuts flavored with saffron and sautéed spinach. I thought the sea bass was nice, though perhaps the serving size was a bit on the tiny side. I don't know whether or not that was the usual size, or if there was a reduced size for Restaurant Week. Of course, we Americans do tend to eat way more food that we should; still, at these prices, I expected more than a square only two or two and a half inches wide. Leo had the spezzatino di cappone di mare con verdure al curry di madras, which seemed to be an interesting stew of monkfish, eggplant, potatoes, pears, zuccini, and sun-dried tomatoes flavored with Madras-style curry and lemon, garnished with a handful of flash-fried carrot shavings. Dale's second course was the star of the evening: costoletta di vitello alla griglia servita con patate, bietole brasate e salsa all'arancia. This was a large grilled veal chop with a dramatically frenched bone resting against a mound of mashed potatoes with an orange tomato sauce and some braised Swiss chard. A long sprig of fresh rosemary was stuck flag-like in the potatoes. We all got to taste a little bit of the veal, and it was quite tasty. My only criticism is that I thought I heard Dale order the chop medium rare, yet the taste I got was decidedly on the medium side; the menu indicated a $12 upcharge for the veal chop, and perhaps the slight overcooking is why they didn't assess the upcharge on our check.
Before our food began to arrive, we received a large, long board with three breads: slices of a large country loaf (my favorite), slices of a baguete, and pieces of plain foccacia. The waiter poured a good quality olive oil all over our bread and butter plates for us to use for dipping. Foot and a half long, pencil-thin breadsticks were also in a vase on the table for us to nibble on.
Desserts were fun. Dale had the tiramisú, rather interestingly presented in a large cocktail glass.
Leo opted for the stunningly presented torta di nocciole, a warm hazelnut cake served with hazelnut croccante ice cream and zabaglione sauce, with a tangle of spun sugar on top.
I had Le Mele, a warm apple tart in puff pastry with mascarpone ice cream and a little date and almond "barrel", with a light almond sauce all over the plate. My apple tart was very pretty (sorry the photo is overexposed) with the center of the puff pastry cut away and used as a cap over the finished tart. There were just a few apple slices in the tart, all "artfully" arranged; the mascarpone ice cream was particularly delicious.
All of the desserts normally retail for $11. I think next time I'll try their cheese sampler.
I wanted some after-dinner espresso, but neither of my companions were interested, and I hate to drink alone, so we skipped the demitasse course and paid our check. I thought it was sweet that so many of the staff thanked us for coming.
Galileo was quite a fun restaurant. The crowd was lively and diverse. I would love to come back, particularly to try the tasting menus, or, when I win the lottery to reserve the kitchen for a private dinner with the chef. Perhaps later in the year, eh? If you like high-end Italian food in a formal setting, this is the perfect place. Be sure to bring your banker.
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