Terrific Takeout: Il Cortile Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
The delicious Salmon Oreganato of Il Cortile
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It's not who you know, it's Whom You Know and we are so glad to know Sal Esposito, stellar owner of Il Cortile. We first visited in 2013 and were impressed:
Last summer, we returned and it proved its terrific consistency:
And we were delighted to return this winter!
During the Oscars if you were reading us, you might recall we reviewed two Oscar winners by HBO: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press One and Citizenfour. More recently we reviewed The Jinx and It's Me, Hilary. We love HBO and their amazing work. But what does HBO love?
We have heard that HBO loves Il Cortile. Every time someone was killed off on The Sopranos, they went to Il Cortile. Today, there is a plaque on the wall in remembrance of James Gandolfini and here's his table. We'd like to think he's there in spirit.
Even the bread at Il Cortile is fresh and inviting:
As you know, we are huge proponents of a balanced meal and are always interested in a green salad with dressing on the side. There are four salad choices at Il Cortile and we chose the Siciliana: Romaine lettuce with salami, provolone, artichoke, tomato, green and black olives and red onion. Peachy does not even like olives but she loved these green olives!
It arrived in an eye-catching arrangement and the dressing arrived on the side. It was fresh and just what we wanted.
The Eggplant Rollatine with Ricotta and Fresh Tomatoes at Il Cortile is to-die-for. The flavor combination of pure authentic ingredients is sure to make you dream about it after you try it, and if you don't eat the whole thing at dinner you can wake up and make your dreams come true, like Peachy did in this case (with the help of her microwave in the middle of the night). Did you know Il Cortile has been around for 40 years? Their cuisine is evidence of their proud history. We don't dream about the food everywhere, and then actually get up to eat it.
The Eggplant Rollatine smiling at you:
Deciding on your pasta course is like shoe-shopping-a total pleasure. This time we opted for the Linguine Cicale: Wide linguine with shrimp, scallops and calamari in a white sauce. It was completely decadent and standout and sure to impress even the most discriminating. Also available in red sauce if you prefer that option, the Linguine Cicale tastes like Sal himself just arrived from the fish market, cooked it in the kitchen and brought it to your table.
We like fish anyway but it's particularly a good idea for Catholics during Lent...Friday is coming! For our entree, we chose the smashing Salmon Oreganto, which hit the high note.
The arrangement is gorgeous, and every bite reflects that adjective as well. Broccoli Rabe came to the symphony of goodness on a plate, and you will be absolutely delighted with this dish. Not every restaurant has been featured three times...but the number of times a venue is featured certainly does reflect how much we love the experience! Another note-we liked the background music that added atmosphere without being one bit obnoxious-we heard Hotel California by the Eagles and Teenager in Love by Dion.
Il Cortile is Terrific Takeout and it continues to be Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
https://www.facebook.com/ILCortileRestaurant
https://www.facebook.com/pages/IL-Cortile-Ristorante/243683952421886
