Cipriano's
Cipriano's is a family owned and operated Italian restaurant on Main Street. Although the place appears old and unkempt, the decor possesses a sense of coziness and rustic charm. We ordered Mama Cipriano's Feast ($24.95 pp) which is a 4-course dinner with bread, salad, entree and dessert. The first item to come was Cipriano's famous garlic bread dusted with parmesan. The bread was warm, buttery and soft, and tasted like it had just come out of the oven. It was unbelievably fluffy and deflated as I bit into it. The only problem was that it was very rich, so I only had one slice.
There was a choice of Caesar or green salad and I picked green. I never liked Caesar salads because I always thought the romaine lettuce looked so lonely by itself. But anyway the green salad was not bad. The leaves and tomatoes were fresh, and the seasoning was light and refreshing.
We could choose any of the entrees from "The Classics" and "Pasta Bar" sections on the menu. I wanted something light and less filling (although this turned out not to be the case at all), so I opted for the vegetarian lasagna. When it came, I was shocked at the size of the portion. It was HUGE! And it looked awfully rich for a vegetarian dish. But I have to say, it was delicious with lots of tomato sauce and cheese. A bit too much cheese perhaps, as I felt there weren't enough lasagna noodles. In any case, this is probably going to be one of the heaviest vegetarian dishes you will ever taste.
The Roma ribs ($5 extra), just like the lasagna, was so over-sized that one person would not be able to finish it. There were about a dozen ribs served with a generous portion of spaghetti. The ribs were juicy and well-flavoured with just the right amount of sauce. The spaghetti had been cooked al dente and was firm to the bite. In comparison to the lasagna, it tasted a lot lighter with a simple tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan.
The dessert was a choice of ice cream: chocolate, lemon, and spumone. We went for chocolate and spumone because just thinking about lemon ice cream made my lips pucker. At this point, I wasn't surprised that even the ice cream was over-sized. The bowl was topped with a huge swirl of whipped cream complete with chocolate drizzle. The chocolate ice cream tasted very strange... I don't know how to explain it, but it didn't taste like regular chocolate ice cream. I didn't like the peculiar flavour at all. The spumone was a solid pink colour which I found quite strange as well. I always thought of spumone as a colourful mix of brown, pink and green. But it tasted a lot better than the chocolate with candied fruits and nuts mixed inside.
I also picked up a medium pizza ($20.95) for take-out since I was heading to Py's place right after dinner. The price includes 3 toppings and I chose shrimp, pineapple and tomato. The combination was very tasty; I especially liked the shrimp. The pizza was quite expensive, but well worth the price. It was not the doughy unimaginative type of pizza you could get from Pizza Hut or the frozen section of the supermarket. It was a gourmet pizza with fresh ingredients and baked to order.
All of the food was delicious with the exception of the chocolate ice cream, but I thought the meal was overly rich and heavy. The portions were huge and most of the food was very oily and filling. This place is great if you don't have to worry about health concerns, but I would not recommend dining here too often.
There was a choice of Caesar or green salad and I picked green. I never liked Caesar salads because I always thought the romaine lettuce looked so lonely by itself. But anyway the green salad was not bad. The leaves and tomatoes were fresh, and the seasoning was light and refreshing.
We could choose any of the entrees from "The Classics" and "Pasta Bar" sections on the menu. I wanted something light and less filling (although this turned out not to be the case at all), so I opted for the vegetarian lasagna. When it came, I was shocked at the size of the portion. It was HUGE! And it looked awfully rich for a vegetarian dish. But I have to say, it was delicious with lots of tomato sauce and cheese. A bit too much cheese perhaps, as I felt there weren't enough lasagna noodles. In any case, this is probably going to be one of the heaviest vegetarian dishes you will ever taste.
The Roma ribs ($5 extra), just like the lasagna, was so over-sized that one person would not be able to finish it. There were about a dozen ribs served with a generous portion of spaghetti. The ribs were juicy and well-flavoured with just the right amount of sauce. The spaghetti had been cooked al dente and was firm to the bite. In comparison to the lasagna, it tasted a lot lighter with a simple tomato sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan.
The dessert was a choice of ice cream: chocolate, lemon, and spumone. We went for chocolate and spumone because just thinking about lemon ice cream made my lips pucker. At this point, I wasn't surprised that even the ice cream was over-sized. The bowl was topped with a huge swirl of whipped cream complete with chocolate drizzle. The chocolate ice cream tasted very strange... I don't know how to explain it, but it didn't taste like regular chocolate ice cream. I didn't like the peculiar flavour at all. The spumone was a solid pink colour which I found quite strange as well. I always thought of spumone as a colourful mix of brown, pink and green. But it tasted a lot better than the chocolate with candied fruits and nuts mixed inside.
I also picked up a medium pizza ($20.95) for take-out since I was heading to Py's place right after dinner. The price includes 3 toppings and I chose shrimp, pineapple and tomato. The combination was very tasty; I especially liked the shrimp. The pizza was quite expensive, but well worth the price. It was not the doughy unimaginative type of pizza you could get from Pizza Hut or the frozen section of the supermarket. It was a gourmet pizza with fresh ingredients and baked to order.
All of the food was delicious with the exception of the chocolate ice cream, but I thought the meal was overly rich and heavy. The portions were huge and most of the food was very oily and filling. This place is great if you don't have to worry about health concerns, but I would not recommend dining here too often.
Nice blog! This place looks good, though the portions seem huge! I wonder if its possible to order 1 of these meals and get normal menu items for the other person? I hate leftovers :P
ReplyDeleteThe ribs look so good!
I was told it's possible. The owner had a bit of a pushy attitude and likes to make sure everyone orders a minimum of one dish. He said it's possible for 1 person to order the feast and the other to order from the regular menu. But he also said you cannot order 2 feasts and share between 3 people (or 1 to share between 2). So it's a bit confusing... best to call in and ask!
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