Restaurant: Dinner at the Borgese’s [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
Location: Santa Monica
Date: August 2, 2023
Cuisine: Italian influenced gourmet home cooking
Rating: Awesome
Dinner at the Borgese’s is a special house dinner in Santa Monica cooked by the stunning pro-level home chef Borgese couple. Tonight’s dinner was another Hedonist dinner featuring whole lamb.
Lovely night out on the patio.
The menu.
Bistecca chilling out.
Rocco in the kitchen.
The dead and dying shrimp section (they had just been split open).
Amuse of burrata and prosciutto.
Amuse of caviar, creme fraiche, and blinis.
Carpaccio di Tonno. Tuna Carpaccio. Super salted — in a good way — the sea salted offset the olive oil nicely.
Bronzino alle Vongole. Bronzino with Clams in Cherry Tomatoes. Interesting take on things. Quite nice though. Drank the entire (delicious) broth.
Risotto ai Calamari. Calamari Risotto. Salty and delicious. Way better than the risotto I had the night before at Mistral.
Cozze con Guanciale. Mussels with Pork Cheek. Who doesn’t think that Guanciale makes everything better?
Pasta di Granchio. Crab Pasta. A very matured, incredibly savory, tomato and probably anchovy etc based crab sauce. Delicious with great texture.
Pasta di Granchio. Crab Pasta. A very matured, incredibly savory, tomato and probably anchovy etc based crab sauce. Delicious with great texture.
Bistecca alla Florentina. Wood-fired Florentine Steak. This was one of the better Rocco steaks. Medium rare and with a salty crust.
Verdure Grigliate. Roasted vegetables. In this case little baby potatoes.
Verdure Grigliate. Roasted vegetables. In this case rapini.
My partial plate.
Back from Türkiye with a new flavor — Sultan’s Delight — Iranian Saffron base with house-made Pistachio Cremino, Chopped Pistachios, and Rose-Water Pistachio Turkish Delight — many ingredients from the Istanbul Spice Bazaar — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #saffron #pistachio #cremino #TurkishDelight #Türkiye
Strawberry Margarita Sorbetto! — like a frozen cocktail — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Strawberries from Avignon, blended with fresh lime, Reposado Tequila and Cointreau –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #strawberry #Margarita #cocktail #Tequila #Cointreau
Bowled up.
The wines.
Another amazing meal at Roccos. I think I might prefer the seafood (or mostly seafood) dinners.
Very fun night with an awesome (and typical) crew and great great wines. Food was really fabulous as always, and there was tons, although I’ve had Rocco’s meals where I liked the mains more. Tonight’s standouts were the clams, quail, and pasta.
First of all, the Borgese hospitality was awesome, the house lovely, and the food absolutely incredible. One of the best “home cooked” meals I’ve had. Maybe ever if you restrict it to chefs cooking in their own home kitchen. Just amazing. Every dish was great. Rustic but extremely delicious style. Superb homemade pastas.
Service was handled by the youngest Borgese (teen daughter) and was better than most restaurant staff. Super friendly and you can tell they do this a lot.
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