Service was "interesting". At first the owner told us the kitchen was already closed. After seeing a sign on the wall saying their kitchen is open till 22:00, she told us since it was already past 22:00, their kitchen was most definitely closed. She was not too happy when we pointedout to her, on her own wall clock and my husband's watch that it was merely 20:50. Why oh why did we insist on eating there??? It seemed like the owner preferred sitting at a table socializing and drinking with friends, and we felt she was put out by having to wait on us. We waited a good 15 minutes to receive the menues, and another 30 minutes to have our order taken, although we were the only guests in the establishment. All through the waiting and "dinner" a very cute, but most ill-behaved dog ran all over the place, barking, doing things to our legs, and carrying on.
The food itself was the stuff of nightmares! We went there as a family: my husband, daughter, and I. After driving 350 miles in inclement weather and horrible road conditions, and going through a tough business meeting, all we wanted was to reward ourselves with a nice dinner. Wrong place! My husband, against his better judgement, splurged and got the rump steak. My daughter had the spaghetti aglio et olio, and I opted for the spaghetti carbonara. Rump steak: you'd have better luck chewing through a rubber ball than this tough, gristly, rubbery abomination. After taking a bite, chewing endlessly, spitting it out, repeat, he gave up after collecting 6 "chew balls" on his plate. The side salad, which was NOT included with the "steak" didn't fare much better. A limp, soggy, unidentifiable mess, swimming in a little oil and a whole lot of vinegar. One bite and that was it. My daughter's aglio et olio. Oh my. Pasta undercooked, swimming in oil, and enough garlic to slay a clan of vampires. I realize aglio et olio means garlic and oil, but really, it was way too much of both. After the second bite she asked if she really had to finish her plate. No, honey, you don't!! And that brings us to the carbonara. Now, spaghetti carbonara is my all-time favorite dish, one that I unfailingly will order when we go out for Italian and cook at home (so I do know what ingredients go into this dish), and i've never met one I didn't like. Well, Luigi's changed that for me. Not only did I dislike it, I really, really HATED it! When the owner brought my plate, she proudly announced that she had used a very good wine for the sauce. Wait--WHAT??? Maybe since the owner is Russian, this was her take on an Italian dish, but wine is never part of a carbonara. EVER. And no, it wasn't a very good wine she used. Not even a good or mediocre one. Just imagine a plate full of undercooked pasta, then throw on top a little ham, a ton of oil, and really bad wine. I promise, it will be the worst thing you ever ate--it could definitely be a fear factor dish! Growing up poor and having been taught that you don't waste food--ever--, I gagged my way through about a quarter of the plate. Now, if you enjoy terrible food, you'll be delighted at the size of the portions; it's like this plate will never end. But alas, I gave up. We were then given one cookie, about 2 inches square, to share between the three of us. By that point, though, we did not want to put anything else out of this place into our mouths, so we left it. And I do have to say, Immodium and Pepto Bismol were our food and beverage of choice for the next three days.
So, to make it short, if you enjoy really bad food, Luigi's is for you. If you don't, well, then you better turn around and run as fast and as far as you can! read more
