Luigi's Patio Ristorante - CE Score: 22.7

Culinary Esquire - The B/CS Restaurant guide

BACKGROUND ON Luigi's Patio Ristorante: One family owned location, in operation for 14 years, family recipes with some new additions.

FIRST IMPRESSION: From the outside you get a shopping center vibe but when you walk in you are immediately greeted by a warm and welcoming Italian theme with an outdoor patio feel. The ambiance is extremely relaxing with real fountains and soft lighting, perfect for a romantic vibe.

You really feel like you are transported to an intimate trip to an Italian countryside cafe while enjoying the company of friends at the same time. You can't help but feel like you need a glass of wine just like you would in Italy. The decor and ambiance does a great job of transporting you there while you dine.

COURTESY ITEMS PROVIDED: Luigi's provided our table with "Welcome Toast Points" (table bread) served with a green olive tapenaud spread. The bread was toasted to perfection, and soft enough to eat easily without making a mess of crumbs on the table.

APPETIZERS: To begin our meal we chose to order the Ravioli Fritta (fried ravioli) which was extremely tasty, fried perfectly, nicely garnished, balanced and not overly sharp on the inside. It was complemented well with shredded parmesan two accompanied sauces (an alfredo sauce and a three tomato sauce) which were both very tasty, making it difficult to choose our favorite.

We also chose to order the Fried Calamari as that is a staple at most Italian restaurants and something we like to use as a baseline comparison when visiting establishments. Luigi's was extremely generous with their portion size. Overall, the batter was light and had a nice seasoning and as a whole it tasted fresh. It was complimented with tasty dipping sauces (Luigi's rendition of a tartar sauce and also a marinara sauce) and a netted lemon to drizzle which also added a beautiful color to the dish. Compared to other calamari we've had, this was slightly more rubbery and we definitely feel like the ravioli appetizer stole the show in this category.

DRINKS: We each chose various drinks to compliment our courses and the different dishes we ordered. For our aperitifs (pre-dinner drinks) we chose to order the following:

• Negroni: (Hendrix, Compari, Vermouth) This drink had a simple statement while yet flavorful, the Vermouth was very forward and while enjoyable we felt this cocktail needed some garnish.

• Pomegranate Cosmopolitan: This cocktail had a nice amount of pomegranate and was tart but not too much making it enjoyable enough on the sweetness/tart scale.

• Lamora Smash: The cocktail itself looked stunning with beautiful garnish, it's frosted top and body color. However, it was surprising that it looked sweeter than it really was, offering more bitterness (which really seemed to overpower it) than sweetness.

• Dirty Martini: This is one of our commonly ordered drinks as a baseline for how an establishment prepares it. However, it had to be remade as it was "too dirty" (too much olive juice overpowering the Grey Goose Vodka, which is what you expect to enjoy in a Dirty Martini). So if you enjoy Dirty Martini's as we do, be sure you specify your vodka to olive juice preference.

• Tempemillo: This wine choice complimented our main entree's extremely well. It was an extremely enjoyable wine that had a nice full body taste of a cab on the front end with the lightness of a pinot on the back end.

MENU SELECTION: Overall, there was a wide array of menu choices, however we still chose to customize just a bit which they were happy to oblige.

Fettuccini Matriciana Arrabiata: This spicy marinara fettuccini dish was presented under a blanket of fresh parmesan cheese. It had the perfect amount flavorful bacon and we also added 4 meatballs which had nice texture and a perfect homemade flavor taking you back to grandma's kitchen in Italy. The pasta was perfectly cooked al dente, the spice was moderate yet flavorful.

Fettuccini Alfredo Alla Primavera: This is not your basic fettuccini alfredo dish here, not only was it topped with fresh shredded parmesan cheese, it was prepared in a delicious light and creamy parmesan-white wine cream sauce, definitely not watered down. The vegetables were fresh and tender. We also requested them to add mushrooms to our dish which was no problem for them. Overall, this was truly a very satisfying take on fettuccini alfredo.

Petto Di Anatra Alle Due Caramelle: (Seasoned Seared Duck Breast): This dish had a lot on it but the duck didn't seem to steal the show. The duck breast seemed a bit undercooked and more on the rare side instead of medium rare, making it a little more tough and chewy. It was plated right next to two sauces (balsamic and orange toffee), making it colorful but made it challenging to enjoy the duck as a stand alone because it was touching both the sauces and mixing flavors. We would recommend that if you order this dish, ask for the sauces on the side instead of on the plate so that you can dip to your palette's liking. We would also like to note that the scalloped potatoes were a hit among us all. They were tender and buttery with a nice garlic overtone.

DESSERT: We ordered Gelato and Tiramisu. Both were amazing and definitely worth ordering again. The tiramisu was plated beautifully and tasted homemade and fresh, not previously frozen. It was creamy and full of flavor and did not have an overbearing espresso flavor. We ordered the salted caramel, black cherry, pistachio, chocolate and vanilla gelato and all were very smooth and creamy!

SERVICE: The hostess at the front was polite and receptive and seated us quickly. Our server checked on us frequently and everyone was very accommodating. The manager (who is the grandson of the founder) visited our table and told us a little about how it the restaurant got started.

We were a little surprised that the server was not as knowledgeable about the menu items and the history of the restaurant but this was no deal breaker. Had the server known the correct pronunciation of the menu items, it would have just been an extension of recreating the feel of being in Italy. Overall, the service was great but we didn't feel we could award a perfect score because of the opportunities that still exist for training in this knowledge area.

DINING AREA IMPRESSION: This is the closest you will get to being in Italy while never leaving College Station. The ambiance was a perfect recreation of Italy with live music and nice lighting creating a very welcoming little Italy experience! The volume of the live music was moderate and we had no problems hearing our conversations. It truly brought the outdoors feel inside!

OVERALL: This was an amazing experience right in our own backyard. The atmosphere and ambiance is exactly what you are looking for in a great restaurant. Knowledge of menu and the restaurant history by staff is an area of opportunity for growth. The food had great

presentation and was very tasty. Price as about average compared to others but was well worth it. It is exceptional that a member of the original family/owner was on site to help answer questions, assist the staff and check on how the guests were doing.

WHAT THEY DID RIGHT:

4.9⭐Atmosphere (near flawless)

4.0⭐Price (about average whole experience helps)

4.3⭐Food (some minor issues, high quality and presentation)

4.5⭐Service (great service, some work on menu & history knowledge)

5.0⭐Guides’s choice (All in all a hidden gem that deserves more recognition)

TOTAL = 22.7 ⭐ OVERALL CE Score

GAMBLE OUTCOME: Win

ABOUT THIS RATING:

To give our rating the most objective weight we use 5 areas to score the restaurant: atmosphere, price, food, service and Guide's choice. The maximum score in each area is 5 stars for a possible total score of 25 stars. Because most review sites use a 5 star rating system we then divide our total score by 5.

Therefore,

21-25 stars = 5 stars

16-20 stars = 4 stars

11-15 stars = 3 stars

6-10 stars = 2 stars

1-5 stars = 1 star

Our experience here was just a snapshot in time and in no way reflects your experience when you visit. As always your "results" or experience may vary.