Marcello Ristorante – Thousand Oaks

 

I have been craving some Italian food lately, so I thought an outing with my friends would be a great opportunity to try a new restaurant and blog about it.  ^_^

I found Marcello Ristorante through yelp and since it was relatively close to where I live, I wanted to give it a try.  The location is absolutely horrible (almost as bad as their website!).  Although there is a sushi restaurant next door, Marcello is located between Chucky Cheese and Petco.  (Great landmarks to point out since I had some trouble finding it)  The outdoor patio was small but it was still cute (and it had Christmas lights … very popular decor, I guess)

The interior was *much* better.  When I first walked it, it seemed a bit small but the atmosphere was nice.  The lights were slightly dimmed and everything looked very clean.  We arrived around 8:30pm and the place only had 2 other tables occupied.

We were planning to eat at 7:30pm but decided to wait for another friend to arrive, who was going to be late.  But by the time it hit 8:30pm, I couldn’t wait any longer.  So when the waiter brought us the bread, I was extremely happy!  But then I look at the sauce he gave us … looks spicy!  But it was actually a sun-dried tomato sauce with olive oil.  It was really delicious!  (Or maybe I was just really hungry…)

 I was talking with my friend for about 30 minutes while looking through the menu.  I was torn between the Risotto Mare (Italian arborio rice with whole mussels, clams, calamari) and the Cappellacci (Small pasta folds filled with ricotta and spinach, in a tomato and cream sauce).  I’ve actually never tried risotto before, so I decided to try it out.

Ok, so I’m not sure if it’s because we were still waiting for another person, but I felt a bit snubbed by the waiter.  After dropping off the bread, he never came back to our table.  By 9pm, a lot more people came in (an additional 5 tables or so), and he was very attentive to them.   But we had to call him over and ask if we could order.  We also had to ask him what the specials were, although he told the table behind us at the start.

My friend decided to order their pasta special (Rigatoni with fresh basil, tomatoes, mozzarella, and another cheese I can’t remember.  The whole this was apparently baked, but it looked as through they just melted cheese on top.  Nonetheless, it was good.  The rigatoni seemed a bit hard though, but the sauce and cheeses were good.

I was pretty pleased with my dish.  I thought risotto would be softer than that, but I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be.  The seafood tasted great and the sauce had a cream-based seafood taste (yum!).  I’m a really lazy person when it comes to actually eating, so I was glad that the muscles were easy to remove from the shells.  I was also happy with the portions (I almost couldn’t finish!).

When my late friend finally arrived, it was almost 9:30pm.  And believe it or not, Marcello closes at 9:30pm Monday-Thursday.  (But it’s Thousand Oaks, so what do you expect?)  She ordered the Focaccia with Prosciutto pizza.  It wasn’t bad … it just wasn’t anything special.

Overall, Marcello Ristorante was average.  The atmosphere was nice (a good place for a date), but the food wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.  Plus, I still felt like the waiter didn’t attend to our table as he did with others.  Our bill came out to $47 before tax/tip ($18 for the risotto, $16 for the pasta special, and $13 for the pizza).

Marcello Ristorante
140 W Hillcrest Dr, Suite 117
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
805.371.4367
www.marcelloristorante.com

Kanpai – Rowland Heights

 

I’m not a huge fan of do-it-yourself BBQ’s (I have to pay and cook?) and also not big on Chinese food.  So when my friend’s parents suggested that we drive to Rowland Heights for dinner, I was a bit apprehensive.  But I love to try new food and his parents seem to know some nice places to eat.

The parking was typical of those asian plazas: crowded.  At least this plaza was easier than the plaza across the street (which has the 99 Ranch and Class 302).  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but when I walked through the doors, I was pleasantly surprised.  The ceiling was covered with those icicle Christmas lights (Wow, those can do wonders!) while the walls had these cool wooden strips.

The grill, placed in the middle of the wooden table, was different from any others I have seen (which is usually at a Korean BBQ place).  It was more like a coal pit with checkered fencing to place your meat on.  (Yes, I’m easily amused)

We took our seats and were given this complimentary bean sprout appetizer.  They were actually pretty good (a little salty for my liking, but I have a sweet tooth).  We ordered a whole bunch of plates: beef short-ribs (minus the rib <3), rib-eye beef (both marinated and just salted), marinated chicken, bacon-like pork strips (but not as fatty), seafood claypot, and sauteed shrimp.  I was a little disappointed by the chicken, since it didn’t have that much flavor (I think I’ve been to too many Korean BBQ places).  The beef and short ribs were both pretty good and tender, but I still needed to dip them into the sauces they provided for a better taste.

I tried the bacon strips, but I really hate bacon.  (One was enough!)

My favorite order was probably the seafood, which came in a very hot clay bowl (Gotta love squid!).  It was actually a little too salty for me (too much salt, not enough salt; where’s my “just right”?) … but eaten together with rice or even some meat solves that problem.  His parents ordered a pitcher of beer, which I didn’t touch.  But my friend (a non-drinker, like me) decided to try out the sake.  It was also my first time trying it, but it wasn’t too bad.  My first attempt went pretty well, since my stomach was filled with yummy meats and seafood.  But after that, the sake seemed to burn my throat.  Sigh~  I guess I’m just too weaksauce.  ^_^;;

The price was really reasonable, in my opinion.  Our bill came out to about $90 before tax/tip but including the pitcher of beer and sake.  I believe each meat dish was only about $8-$10 (cheap!).  Overall, the food was all right.  I wish the meat was more flavorful, but for the price, I wouldn’t mind coming here again.

Kanpai
18902 Gale Ave, Suite A
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
626.854.3000