Now that the holidays are behind us, I had a chance to sit down and have a dinner with some of my closest friends. We decided to check out Angelina Italian Bistro, which just opened downtown a few months ago on Broadway. It's located near the Detroit Opera House in the old Madison Theatre. The design of the restaurant is classy, but comfortable. The thing that caught my eye when I first walked into the restaurant was the glass blown chandelier made by a student from the Center of Creative Studies. The bar almost took up half the restaurant and is very welcoming if you just wanted to drop in for a drink. They included a good selection of wine and beer from Michigan. From the the chandelier to the food, you can tell that they made an effort to include the essence of Detroit in their restaurant.
Before I begin on the food, let me just say that because I grew up with great Italian food, I can be a bit picky when it comes to authentic Italian dishes. That being said...here are my thoughts on the food. We started off our meal with the Calamari appetizer. It came with a very interesting sweet dip. I didn't know what to expect with a carmelo sauce...a sweet dip with calamari sounded kind of odd. B
ut I have to admit it worked really well with it. I wish I had the appetite to try the housemade mortadella and the pickled fennel (I lovvve fennel)...maybe next time. They served warm bread with hummous, olive oil, and honey butter. The hummous was garlicy...just the way I like it. For my entree I tried the Shrimp Risotto. This dish was okay. The vegetables needed to be cooked a little longer..the carrots where still crunchy. Although the basil oil that was around the dish made it look pretty, I don't think it was necessary for the dish. It's already rich, and the addition of the oil put it over the edge. The mooch that I am (I do it for the blog...or at least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better) tried a bit of my friend's gnocchi and appreciated the fact that the texture and taste of the actual gnocchi was very similar to what I was used at home. The sauce was a bit too rich for me. I also had a bite of the Kalmatta Pizza and thought that it was good. Service was excellent...everyone from the host to the server was very attentive and friendly. Overall, I thought that it was good...especially after a few glasses of Rose' wine! I'll give Angelina Bistro 3 forks out of 5.
ut I have to admit it worked really well with it. I wish I had the appetite to try the housemade mortadella and the pickled fennel (I lovvve fennel)...maybe next time. They served warm bread with hummous, olive oil, and honey butter. The hummous was garlicy...just the way I like it. For my entree I tried the Shrimp Risotto. This dish was okay. The vegetables needed to be cooked a little longer..the carrots where still crunchy. Although the basil oil that was around the dish made it look pretty, I don't think it was necessary for the dish. It's already rich, and the addition of the oil put it over the edge. The mooch that I am (I do it for the blog...or at least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better) tried a bit of my friend's gnocchi and appreciated the fact that the texture and taste of the actual gnocchi was very similar to what I was used at home. The sauce was a bit too rich for me. I also had a bite of the Kalmatta Pizza and thought that it was good. Service was excellent...everyone from the host to the server was very attentive and friendly. Overall, I thought that it was good...especially after a few glasses of Rose' wine! I'll give Angelina Bistro 3 forks out of 5. 
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