La Ricetta Italian, Cow & Moon Gelato, Enmore

Aunt-T is a year older again! Uncle G has chosen to treat me to an Italian feast in Enmore. I haven't been to the Newtown area in a while. It was great to see the hustle and bustle of King St & lap up the smell of Thai radiating from the 342 million Thai restaurants there (each sustained by hungry uni students on a budget).

La Ricetta

La Ricetta recently became my father in-law's favourite restaurant. Its dishes are "authentic and flavorsome" we've been told. Well I like to keep things real - I'm not Italian, I don't know what's 'authentic', but the food was quality, full of flavour and overall enjoyable.

Frozen Strawberry Daquiri $13.50

Now, I'm under the impression (unless stated otherwise) Daquiri's are alcoholic? The specials board certainly didn't say anything about 'mocktails'. Never the less it was DELICIOUS! Was there alkie? That's questionable, but you could taste fresh crushed strawberries, it was so lovely and refreshing we wanted more!

Calamari e gamberi fritte $18.90/ 28.90 [Entree pictured]
Calamari & prawns floured with salt & pepper, shallow fried w garlic aioli

If there is only one thing you need to know about Uncle G, is that he is a creature of habit. So I consider myself in a good position to judge a good 'Salt and Pepper Calamari(or squid)'. These ones were definitely decent. To be honest I couldn't remember too well because they were outshone by the prawns. These were fresh, plump & juicy with just enough crunchy coating (so its not too heavy/oily) and perfectly seasoned. As good as the ones from my favourite takeway shop at the Fish Markets! The most unfortunate thing was there were only 2.

Pappardelle ragu con porcini $17.90/ 23.90 [Entree pictured]
(Egg pasta with ragu of pot-braised beef, porcini mushrooms & napoletana)

I've had many 'ragu's and this is definitely one of the most outstanding. As you work your way through the perfectly al dente ribbons, you will find it generously latticed with slow cooked beef, falling apart with a gentle twist of the fork. Uncle G and I demolished this in no time! 

Risotto granchio $18.90/ 24.90 [Entree pictured]
(Risotto with fresh blue swimmer crab, basil, barlic, chilli, cream & napoletana) 

We were served one course after another, so by the time this arrived I had forgotten what I ordered. I looked at the risotto with small white pieces of protein popping throughout and thought "I wonder why I ordered chicken risotto". It wasn't until I had a spoonful that I realised they were indeed, generous portions of crab meat. Enough said. This risotto was divine and generous! I would definitely order this again. 

Grigliata mista di mare $37.90
Grilled king prawns, scampi, calamari, fish, mussels (and clams)

I initially wanted the 'hot pot misto mare', but father-in-law recommended this version instead. The seafood was once again fresh. Especially the prawns, fish and clams. I felt the hot pot version may have been a better choice though, as the mussels and calamari could do with more flavour. And we were only given half a scampi (boohoo), so you'll have to fight for it if there's two of you.

Cow and Moon Gelato

Queues have been going around the block since this article was published. Just five minutes down the road from La Ricetta was the best gelato in the world, so how could we refuse? 

Mesmerised by the exciting array of flavours, we eagerly choose 4 to sample: Malto Bliss, Mandorla Affogato, Cookies and Cream, Hazelnut Roche.

If I have to be honest, I hyped myself up too much for this "world best gelato". Certainly it was good, but I would be reluctant to wait in a 30 min queue for it. My favourite was Malto Bliss. I can't explain what the flavours reminded me of, but the solid choc bits and light chocolatey flavours really worked for me. The award winning Mandorla Affogato was good and had plenty of texture throughout. But as a coffee fan, I found it a little sweet for 'Affogato' and think I prefer more intense, less sweetened coffee flavours eg Movenpick's Cappuccino. Uncle G monstered down his Cookie and Cream and Hazelnut Roche. These were pretty good too. I guess overall they were very good gelatos so long as your not expecting a mindblowing experience.

A big thanks to Uncle G for organising this dinner. It was lovely and I'd definitely return to La Ricetta and Cow&Moon again. It's not the cheapest but its quality Italian.

Note: Cow and Moon Gelato is in the Sydney, Sydney North Entertainment book 2014