Dec. 7, 2012: Fratelli Ristorante in Sandy, UT

 

Fratelli Ristorante in Sandy, UT

Wanted to try something new and since Italian food is probably my absolute favorite kind of food, this caught my eye when I searching a "new and noteworthy" list of dining in Utah. I checked out their online menu and it sounded really good. I was happy to see they make gnocchi (one of my favorite pastas) and that they make their own mozzarella, sausage and other ingredients - that's a good sign that they care about the quality of their food.


It was located in a shopping area but more like a disjointed strip mall area than a large shopping district. The few other restaurants around it were more like casual dining (like Zupa's) than fine dining. So parking was easy and it wasn't very crowded for a Friday night. We had reservations but there wasn't any waiting even though almost every table was full. It isn't very large inside but it is nice inside and everything looks new even though it's been there a few years. The service was friendly, nice, attentive and professional. Our waitress was really good. The menu has a lot of interesting choices on it along with traditional Italian favorites that are clearly made in the more traditional method with fresh ingredients and care rather than from pre-made ingredients thrown together. The entrees ranged from $14-$21, the appetizers were $8-$14 and they offered some tasty sides for $4. The dessert menu items were all $6 and sounded good. Here is a link to check out their menu http://www.fratelliutah.com/Dinner.aspx


They brought breadsticks to the table. There were just a few thin breadsticks on the plate, they were not the kind of breadsticks that are baked alone. They were the kind made from a thin flat, airy (big air pockets) bread that has been sliced into strips after it was baked. They were good but slightly bland. They didn't have garlic or other discernible seasoning. I would have preferred some oil or herbs to dip them in. But Steve really liked them.

Breadsticks

 

Our entrees both came with a small side salad with a choice of a few dressings. I tried the house dressing made from gorgonzola, oil and vinegar while Steve chose Ranch (his favorite). The salad was a handful or two of lettuce, shredded mozzarella, a couple tomato chunks and about a 1/4 cup of garbanzo beans. It was alright - nothing special. The dressing had a good flavor but Steve prefers croutons or something crunchy in there - to him garbanzo beans are mushy and flavorless. But he liked the Ranch.

Side Salad

 Steve was in the mood for just a good old bowl of Spaghetti and Meatballs. It came in a big white bowl with lots of noodles and topped with a large amount of marinara (which is a good thing!) but only 2 medium sized meatballs. He was disappointed that there were so few meatballs but he said they tasted good (but not as good as mine - he might be prejudiced toward me there though ;) He liked the marinara, it was flavorful and had a good texture (not too runny or too thick). The waitress grated fresh Parmesan from a chunk of it onto our dishes. It was a very good Parmesan.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

 I chose Espresso-Rubbed Beef Shoulder Tender which is served in a cabernet-espresso crimini mushroom pan sauce with Roman Gnocchi.  It was really good. The meat was tender, the sauce was rich, bold and interesting - with a slight coffee flavor (I don't drink coffee but in the sauce it tasted good). The little carrots were the exact amount of tender without being mushy. The gnocchi was quite different than I'm used to. They almost looked like chunks of oil-roasted potatoes and tasted like they were made only from thick mashed potatoes and then cooked in oil. They had a very oily-fried taste on the outside. I prefer gnocchi that is smaller and more cheese/pasta flour based and steamed or boiled rather than fried. But they were good - and I love to try foods cooked differently. So I really enjoyed the whole dish. I had some left over and my teenage daughter really liked it too.

 

Overall - I would definitely recommend Fratelli Ristorante. It was a good environment, good service, not too expensive and their menu has lots of  interesting things I still want to try. We will definitely come back here again some time.