"Life is a combination of magic and pasta."
                                                           Frederico Fellini

Although Cannella's opened in 1978, until last night I'd never been there.  Gretchen and I have been looking for a good Italian place and since it had been years since she'd been there, we decided to try it again.

Cannella's is right downtown across the street from the Leonardo in a classic two story brick building.  The inside decor is great, exposed brick, hardwood floors and a lot of old black and white family photos on the walls; reminiscent of another former downtown favorite of mine, "The Red Apple" which was located in the basement of the Judge building.  Cannella's took over what had been a rather seedy bar on the West side of their space and by doing so, gained a bar and a basement seating area, they also offer a beautiful patio.  But, even with an open flame propane heater, outdoor seating in Salt Lake City in November is, at least in our minds, not conducive to an enjoyable dinner.

We started the evening off with an order of Bruschetta, something I always enjoy, and Cannella's version of this Italian classic was pretty good; five pieces of toast topped with fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil and just the right amount of Balsamic vinegar.

Both of us ordered the same entree', Pappardelle Bolognese, (rather unlike us, usually we get two different entrees so we can share).  I got the soup, a Minestrone and she ordered the salad.

The salad was good, a nice variety of greens, kidney and garbanzo beans, pickled beets, Friggitello peppers, tomato and more.

The Minestrone unfortunately was another story; in a word, it was bland, it seemed to be totally void of seasoning.  The stock reminded me of the watered down "juice" you find in a can of "Stewed Tomatoes" from the grocery store.  Simply adding tomato paste to the stock along with some parsley, oregano and basil would have added so much to an otherwise good soup.

And, as Gretchen pointed out on the way home; where was the garlic bread?  What kind of Italian restaurant doesn't bring out a small loaf of Italian bread or at least a basket containing four slices or so of good bread?

Our entrees arrived with one, that's right, count it, one small slice of garlic bread and the blandness of the dishes continued.  I'm notorious for complaining about the heat overwhelming the food.  But, c'mon people, this is Italian food, you know; oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme.  Again, the dish was ok, just not great and some seasoning would have elevated it to something wonderful.  It's obvious their ingredients are good, (for pity sake they advertise that they use a local favorite of mine, "Colosimo's Sausage" among other things) it's just that at least in our experience, their recipes are just too plain.

In 1980 I was involved in a long distance relationship with a woman in New Haven, Connecticut.  In March of 1980 I flew to New Haven and although the relationship later turned into a disaster of "another Episode of Oprah" proportion, I was introduced to some incredible Italian food in New Haven as well as Boston.  There are few things better in life than Cannoli Sicilia.  So, last night I ordered Cannoli for dessert, Gretchen ordered their gelato sampler dish; pistachio, berry and cherry chocolate.  (Among other things on the dessert menu they offer a, "Whiskey Bravo" High West's "American Praire Bourbon" poured over a scoop of vanilla gelato.)

A cannoli shell is supposed to be crisp, not rock hard like granite or basalt, but dammit, the ricotta and mascarpone filling was so very good.  The filling also had just the right hint of lemon, hazelnut and chocolate; again, so very close, but not quite.

Gretchen's gelato saved the day, it was probably the best dish of the night; such incredibly good flavors, so smooth; made me happy that we do share when we try a new restaurant.

The story of Cannella's is great atmosphere, a wide variety of wines and spirits available but in the end the food just isn't quite there.  (At least they serve Coca Cola products.)

I probably won't be seeing you again at Cannella's, but I do look forward to seeing you soon on the set, stage or in the studio.