Gloria's Little Italy

Address:


1 East Center Street Suite 100
Provo, UT 84606

Price Range:


Entrees start around $17

Website

I apologize for how late I've been in posting. Holidays are busy times for everyone so I will treat my readers with a double post.

We had been hearing about this place a lot since it opened and we decided to treat ourselves and give it a go. We went with some friends of ours that have grown out of Utah Valley and are moving to Portland to a grown up job. Poo.

Menu:


Tomato Basil Soup: Craig and Brad both decided to get the soup. Little did I know when they said soup they really meant a cup of sauce. This soup was very unlike other tomato basil soups I've had. It didn't leave that acidic flavor in your mouth like most tomato soups do if you eat too much of it. This soup resembled sauce so much they ate just about then entire thing with bread alone. It was absolutely fantastic and I may just get a straight up bowl of it next time I go.

Salad: So I got the salad and the only reason I'm bothering writing this is because the waitress suggested I try the caesar salad dressing. For those that are caesar salad fans (TRUE caesar salad fans) you may enjoy this dressing. It took on a more anchovy flavor which is very true to the traditional dressing. For those of you who don't enjoy the flavor of canned fish, I would suggest another dressing. I may give the Italian a try next time.

Cappelletti Portofino: Craig and Karen got this decicious dish. It included beautiful handmade cheese tortellini with a mixture of their ragu and pesto sauces. It was divine. The pesto was right on target instead of made with too much basil as most restaurants do to cut the cost of pine nuts down. The ragu (or otherwise known as bolognese) complimented the pesto surprisingly well and was NOT too overpowering as I was afraid it would do. Ragu's usually such a showoff.

Lasagna Ragu: Brad chose the lasagna which I usually think is a cop out with Italian food because it is one of the most commonly known dishes. However, this lasagna was unlike many others that I've tasted (and I've tasted a few lasagnas in my day) the Ragu was sublime (see above post) but it played such a beautiful part in the ensemble I could forgive it's pushiness. The noodles, however, were the first things I noticed. Most lasagnas consist of slightly al dente noodles. This isn't a bad thing, it holds the lasagna together and keeps the layers from mushing together, however, Gloria's lasagna noodles were absolutely tender. I don't know if it's the bechamel sauce that does it the extra favor or the perfect amount of time that she cooks it in the oven, but it turned out fantastic. I was very impressed and would actually suggest people get the lasagna if they're not in an adventurous mood.

Gnocchi with Rosata: If I could name one of my favorite comfort foods, it would be gnocchi. Gnocchi is pasta made with mashed potatoes and formed into little balls or pellets. I would make it when I went home for lunch when I was in High School. I had heard many great things about Gloria's gnocchi and decided I should probably give it a try. I was not disappointed. Since I don't have a food mill I hand mash my potatoes. Gloria seems to push her potatoes through a food mill so they are so perfectly mashed there are absolutely no lumps. It helps make the gnocchi take a much more uniform shape. The best part is, since the gnocchi were in smaller and more uniform pieces, they weren't as heavy when settling into your stomach so you could enjoy the whole plate and not hate yourself afterwards for eating so much. But I haven't even gotten to the sauce. With her gnocchi you get to choose from a list of her sauces. I chose the Rosata because she had won an award for it in 2009. It was her Pomorola sauce with a little cream added to it which made it absolutely divine. It wasn't heavy like most cream based sauces and was the perfect balance between a red sauce and a white sauce that It complimented the gnocchi extremely well. I loved it and highly suggest this meal if you go to Gloria's.

Cannoli: I LOVE cannoli. I can't help myself when I'm around them. These little angels were delightful. They are filled with a ricotta and marscapone cream mixed with chocolate chips and (if you want) cherries on the ends. We opted for no cherries, but they were absolutely lovely none-the-less. The cream was stiff enough it didn't drip out the ends of the fried shell but it wasn't too stiff that you were weighed down by the extra starch. They are a little spendy, but if you go to Gloria's Saturday nights after seven, desserts there are half off. You're welcome.

The service was prompt. The atmosphere was absolutely wonderful. They had a guy playing the accordion (and NOT in the annoying way). He played a large variety of songs varying from a number of operas to the Godfather Waltz to even Disney movies. The lighting was dim but it was still enjoyable and there were a number of different rooms including rooms for large parties so you could be as loud as you wanted and nobody would really know. All in all, if you are looking for real home-made Italian and you don't mind paying a bit more for it, I would try Gloria's Little Italy.