Piacere

Last night, me and the fam tried out Piacere, which has long been on my to-try list. I'm not sure how I heard about this San Carlos restaurant, but once I saw the well-marked menu (*denotes vegetarian, **is vegan) online, I knew I had to go.

I started with the Market Cucumber Salad. The description said "barely dressed" and they weren't kidding. This tasted like nothing but cucumber and a bit of mint. I like cucumber, but would have appreciated some more effort flavor-wise.

We also ordered the roasted garbanzo beans. I have wanted to try fresh, in the pod, garbanzo beans since learning about them on Chopped, so I was happy to see this on the menu. Not so happy-making was the fact that they were challenging to get out of their papery and inedible skins and, once you did remove them, they tasted like starchy nothingness. Again, some seasoning maybe? Bleh.

My entree was this roasted squash, black rice, and pesto dish. I don't know how else to put it - it sucked. The rice tasted weird, the pesto was flat, and the squash were mushy and bland. So disappointing, especially as my vegan hubby ordered the most delicious portobello burger and I had serious food envy.

On the plus side, it was a lovely evening, they had the front of the restaurant open to the fresh air, and they had a great low-key band playing near the bar. If I had had some drinks, the whole experience might have been a lot better. As it was, however, I'm in no rush to head back. I love places that accommodate all types of diners, but the food has to be good too! All I know is that if I do go back, I'll get the portobello burger.

Heading to some old faves over the weekend. Hope you're eating well too....