By Mark Baratelli
Not a Food Reviewer
So last night I'm at the Best of Orlando party, and I run into Chris from the Orlando food blog Eat Local Orlando. He liked my post about Santiago's Bodega, but called it a "review." I just want to clarify that I do not review. To me, I just share my thoughts and some pictures. That's it. As long as readers know this, I think they can enjoy better what and how I write. And for the record, Chris is amazing and his blog is great.
So Il Mulino New York at Disney's Dolphin and Swan Resort...
Delicious interior. I wanted to hug the wood, the great big metal bowl lighting, the giant ceilings, the lovely big-city-feel bar and the crazy window hiding the kitchen (which of course I did not get a picture of.) All of this, however, is useless for first impressions. The volume of the lovely live music being played and sung live (very well the night I went by two guitarist and a pianist) was set at a vile level. I am not 80 years old, so when I say the volume is too loud, I am right. Old people don't have brains. I do. This hot mess volume setting ruined my first impression so much, I did not even *want* to stand at the bar and get hammered before dinner. And people: that's a first.
My mysterious dining companion who shall remain nameless (he is NOT my boyfriend, Scottie dammit) and I were sat at a screwball location. It was a two-seater (fine) but I was wedged with a column behind me and a sliding door to my left, with tables on either side of me. I wanted to move, but when I saw the sliding door actually slid, I closed it so I felt like I was in a 50% private dining pocket.
My mysterious dining companion (from here on out known as MDC) and I were served an amuse bouche of salami and eggplant. I sent the eggplant back and asked for more salami.
I ordered the tuna carpaccio and my MDC a full portion of penne in house marinara with a *wee* bit of ricotta mixed in. Both dishes were "meh," but his was really unimpressive. Pasta and sauce just sitting there: no garnish, no presentation, no classy-classy. It looked like I made it in my microwave.
For dessert, my MDC has the flourless chocolate cake, which he said wasn't as good as The Capital Grill's version. I had the a bowl of berries, minus the two types of cream it comes with.
We had a bottle of champagne (yay) during dinner and coffees after. As a surprise, the server brought over a tureen with a ladle and offered us free limoncello. Hello! That was a great capper to dinner.
As a side note, my MDC has the Tables in Wonderland deal, so we got 20% off our meal. And if you eat in the restaurant, the $21 valet is comped.
