The Charlottesville newspaper Daily Progress published their Readers' Choice Winners Edition in July 2006. The #1 choice for “favorite Italian place” was Ragazzi's Italian Restaurant (see map, and also Ragazzi's official website). That same month we dined there; however, we did not come away with the same opinion.
The food was attractively presented, but most of the lettuce in the salad was yellow/white iceburg lettuce from near the core. The homemade house dressing was pleasant, as was the commercial blue cheese; and the breadsticks/rolls were okay, but very bland.
Our son liked his Meaty Lasagna ($9.99, including salad and bread).
The big disappointment was the “build your own” pizza (large size $10.99, not including salad) that the rest of us got. We asked for broccoli - check; mushrooms - check; onions - uncertain. If there were any onions, they were hard to detect.) The sauce was good; not much cheese. But the bummer was the crust. The bottom of it was so wet it practically glued itself to the plate — gummy and totally unappetizing. Our waiter pseudo-soliticiously asked about our state of contentment. I raised up my slice of soggy pizza to show him the underside. He said, “Oh yeah, the cook rolls 'em so thin that they get that way.” (The pizza sauce saturates the thin crust.)
Well, that interesting fact didn't help me. I was left with inedible, raw-tasting dough (except for the thick edge of the crust) and a few veggies for my supper.
My husband and daughter evidently have a higher tolerence for slimy dough — they ate theirs. Hopefully, we just hit a bad night at Ragazzi's. Daily Progress readers can't all be wrong, can they?
Salad.
Pizza.
Lasagna.
Copyright © 2006 Patricia B. Mitchell.