Il Castello

Finally a restaurant, an Italian restaurant, I am excited about.  I love eating out but here's the thing, nine times out of ten I am disappointed knowing that I could have done better myself at home.  I am a tough critic because I love food and I love cooking so when we do go out I find myself constantly critiquing: the pasta was over cooked, dry chicken (most common complaint), poor service, the food wasn't piping hot, etc., etc.  My poor husband has heard it all, and even though he agrees, it is nice to go out once in awhile.

Well, we have found the perfect place, Il Castello on A Street, downtown Idaho Falls.  Saturday evening we were encouraged to try Il Castello but I was really dragging my feet--I did not know anyone that had tried it, I had not seen a menu and it features Italian cuisine.  Okay, pasta is one of my passions and so I can be really particular--please, you can put an olive on the menu but that doesn't make it Italian.   So I was already biased when we walked in the door but I changed my mind quickly.  We had two fabulous meals and ended with a fantastic dessert.  We were so pleased with our meals that we couldn't wait to return and so we went there for lunch today.  Perfetto!

RT started with the Butternut Squash soup...mmmmm, delicious.  The perfect combination of butter, garlic, squash and cream, yes, loads of cream.  So good.  (Sorry I do not have a photo of the soup, this is southeast Idaho after all and I still feel a little weird photographing food in restaurants.) 

He also ordered the Spanish Pasta, a creamy poblano sauce served over linguine with poblano peppers, mushrooms, asparagus and sauteed chicken.  This dish was lovely.  The chicken was perfectly cooked, tender and not over done.  I would have liked more of a poblano kick but the cream sauce was just right, not too heavy or thick, this baby definitely did not come out of package.

Saturday evening he ordered the Chicken Fra Diavolo, a perfectly grilled chicken breast served in their house spicy sauce.  Okay, so I am quite good at red sauce but I told RT I would hire on to do dishes just to learn how to make this red sauce!  Perfect--thick, rich, super tomatoe-y and spicy hot!  I loved it.  This dish is served with a corn salad, an excellent side kick for this spicy dish. We were served corn salad all over Italy this fall, it's a very light green salad accented with kernels of fresh corn.

I ordered the Greek Tuna Pasta both times, it really is that good.  Today the tuna was especially nice--cooked to my order the chef had a perfect sear, giving the fish layers of flavor and texture.  It is served a-top linguine and a medley of  piquant veggies:  capers, artichoke hearts, black olives,  sun-dried tomatoes and just enough olive oil to make it very silky on the tongue.

We ended each meal with a serving of Panacotta.  Pana means cream and cotta means cook, so basically this is cream cooked with vanilla and lightly sweetened with sugar.  A few simple ingredients turned into heaven on a plate--rich, not too sweet, sexy smooth on the the tongue.  The chef plated it with a little caramel and fresh berries and I touched it up with just a pinch of salt.  (I couldn't resist the combining the cold velvety cream and a streak of caramel with a little crunch of salt crystal.)

We can't wait to get to Idaho Falls again. Check it out, tell 'em I sent you!

http://ifcastello.com/