The evening of my birthday celebration kicked off with perfectly seared scallops and ended with decadent cheese ice cream, all at Castagna Restaurant. What a way to ring in my 36th year of existence; seated in a dimly lit dining room, surrounded by a simple, elegant setting and noshing new food with my hubby.The star of the show was Cassio's appetizer consisting of dungeness crab, amaranth (a leafy green,) lemon and cardamom. The citrus and crab provided the perfect dialogue, leaving a refreshing aftertaste at the tip of your tongue. Second place, only because of its monologue nature, was a simple swipe of black garlic across my plate. Yes, I ran my finger oh so tenderly through the grainy black decadence, desiring more so as I could spoon it onto a cracker and lap it up with enthusiasm.
Overall, the food was well-prepared, but there seemed to be something lacking with the dishes. Striving to feature a wide array of popular and inventive ingredients, the dishes seemed to fall short when it came to a cohesive concept. Simply put, the food didn't play nicely with each other. Of course this is just my humble opinion, and while I had a wonderful experience, I would recommend other restaurants over this one to those who visit this wonderful city.
Environment: 2+ thumbs up
Food: 1 thumb up
Price: $$$
Service: 2 thumbs up
Location: SE Hawthorne
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