Dom's

We went to Dom's tonight. It's a restaurant right off of Salem Street in the North End. We decided to go there because Zagat's gave it a 26 rating for food It also seemed to have plenty of seating available right away.

Over all, we thought it was pretty good. Dom's has an extensive menu. All of their pasta dishes come in two different sizes. Appetizer portions, which range from $9-$12, and entree portions, which average about $20. The entrees come with free salad and home baked bread. We decided to order a baked eggplant appetizer (baked eggplant, fontina cheese, and tomato sauce). We then ordered four appetizer sized pastas to share. Dom's has a wide variety of pastas from which to choose. For each dish, one can choose from a selection of dried pastas or fresh, homemade pastas. Since Bryan is a HUGE fan of fresh pasta, we only ordered fresh pasta. There was a choice of tagliatelle (a wide flat noodle), gnocchi (potato dumplings), or fusilli (coiled pasta). We ordered a 4-mushroom marsala-based fusilli, gnocchi with pesto, tagliatelle with meat-enhanced red gravy (Sugho di Pomodoro), and a lasagna-liked layered pasta dish with cheese, spinach, and a cream sauce. We both agreed that the fusilli was excellent. The texture of the noodle was perfectly al dente and the flavor of the mushrooms with the marsala sauce was excellent. The dish seemed to burst with flavor, yet it was not overpowering.

Bryan labeled the Sugho di Pomodoro as his second favorite, and I would agree. The sauce had a nice, smoky flavor and the meatballs were good. The tagliatelle was definitely homemade, although it was a bit overcooked and slightly soft - not al dente. When Bryan tried the gnocchi, he said, "it's definitely homemade, but I like Il Panino's better." He was referring to the Italian joint that we frequent near our home. The gnocchi was rather soft and had a bit of a grainy texture - kind of like mashed potatoes. I guess both Bryan and I prefer chewy gnocchi. The pesto sauce was pretty good. It had a fresh basil flavor and was slightly creamy. Finally, Bryan thought the layered pasta dish was pretty good. I'm not a big fan of cream sauces in general, so I didn't really like it.

The appetizer portion sizes are rather generous. For me, that portion would be more than plenty for a meal. Remember, you have to save room for dessert in the North End, whether it be at Modern Pastry, Mike's Pastry, or Cafe Vittoria's!

They have a decent wine list and also offer several types by the glass. Bryan ordered a house chianti and thought it was good.

Over all, we decided that the food was fine, but nothing to write home about. If I were to go a second time, I would probably just order the appetizer portion of the mushroom marsala dish and a glass of wine. I'd then save room for dessert at one of the cafes mentioned above.