Spoleto Restaurant, Northampton, MA

Last night I went on a date to Spoleto, an Italian restaurant in Northampton, MA. It's the town next to mine, roughly ten minutes away by car. It's a funky place to go and eat, with cool history and neat people. We went to Spoleto and had their $20 special. It consists of almost any appetizer on their menu, any entree, and any dessert.

My partner had calamari for an appetizer, while I had the carrozza, which the waitress told me I was the only one to pronounce the correct way. That was fresh mozzarella sandwiched between two pieces of bread, sauteed in a pan, with a dipping sauce. I asked for the sauce on the side, but was ignored. What I received was decent. It was filling, but the mozzarella was gooey and I expected some crunchiness to counteract that. Unfortunately, the heavy tomato sauce, most of which I scraped off, was somewhat soggy and made the rest of the dish soggy. I ate half. I would have liked to experience more of the flavor, but unfortunately, the tomato sauce also took over the majority of the flavor palate, and the freshness of the mozz was thus undermined.

3/10- SOGGY

For an entree, I had the ravoli alla vodka. It was obvious with this dish that the ravioli was homemade, and the sauce as well. I ought to take the time to mention that our waitress, although I did not catch her name, was extremely friendly, courteous, and talkative throughout our dining experience.

Back to the pasta. There were seven or eight large ravioli, each roughly the size of a doll's plate, or an oversized watch of Flava Flav's. They were covered in a nice tomato vodka sauce. Unfortunately, a lot of the creaminess was lost in the tomato flavor, but was still hearty and tasty. The pasta was done perfectly- al dente and soft, with the perfect amount of gooey cheese filling inside. It was a very tasty dish for a raw and rainy night. Quite filling, too. I finished half of it, but did not manage to take a photo.

7/10- LOVELY

For the last part of our dinner, we finished off with a selection from their dessert menu. Unfortunately, the dessert that I was most eager to try, the Late Summer Berry Cheesecake Bites, were sold out, and I was most disappointed. I was assured by the waitress that the strawberry cheesecake was just as good, which I ordered, and she made it special by swirling lovely designs on the plate in strawberry syrup.

The cake came on a plate accompanied by whipped cream, homemade that morning. I was surprised to see that the cake was not a cheesecake with strawberry topping, but rather a cheesecake with strawberries incorporated into the mix. It was delicious, tangy, and flavorful. The crust was crumbly and soft, and the cake was very filling. I ate half and put it in. The syrup and cream made it an enjoyable texture adventure.

8/10- DELIGHTFUL

Spoleto Restaurant
50 Main Street
Northampton, MA, 01002
www.spoletorestaurants.com