hed wines slices — the scallop bore the gentle aroma of smoked wood as the pear slices were a lovely red, had the perfect crunch and the wine, dribbling down the side, made the whole dish quite a treat.
It was the scallop that was picture perfect — no floppy sides, sitting proud, cooked to the right temperature — the knife went straight through and nothing felt raw in the mouth.
For the vegetarians on the table, even the Insalata Mista looked tempting — fresh greens, grilled baby eggplants, roasted red pepper, herbed ricotta cheese and sun-dried black olives in a lemon dressing — the aroma and flavours don't play tricks with you in this one. The flavours are distinct, no confusion, and the bit of cheese was bang on.
I have never waited so longingly for a risotto — especially when the chef is trying to feed me one that's vegetarian. But the Porcini Risotto quickly became my current favourite in the city.
The thing about risotto, which most often annoys me, is that restaurants often try to make it like a Mac 'n' Cheese. The excessively melted and thick Arborio, an overpowering cheese turns one off more than it impresses.
However, with the chef going al dente with this version, the happy blend of Parmesan and the porcini mushroom, which can breathe life into any dish, was perfect.
One of my favourite risotto recipes by Jamie Oliver says that a perfect risotto has to be smooth and creamy and that's pretty much a standard benchmark for a good risotto for me, too.
The Ravioli Di Melanzane E Mozarella Al Filetto Di Pomodoro Fresco where discs of ravioli is stuffed with roasted eggplants and mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and herbs was so much better than the ravioli I'd eaten at Bene the last time. I distinctly remember it being thicker on the sides, leaving this unpleasant dough-like after-taste. This time, the edges were smoothened out and worked really well.
The final treat will remain my favourite at Bene — medium rare New Zealand lamb loin, wrapped with parma ham, served with some divine polenta (which I am actually getting used to by now) and a sauce that stole my heart in an instant. The almost-roulades were cooked to perfection; no fake flavours, no strange misplaced spices — just full-bodied flavour and layers and layers of texture.
There was dessert — chocolate ravioli, stuffed with crème brûlée. Not bad, perhaps a bit cookie-like and even though everyone at the table was munching it away to joy — the idea of eating a deep-fried chocolate disc didn't appeal to me as much. But no worries, there's way more treats from where it came from. And that is why Bene is good news for the city.

n_priyadarshini@dnaindia.net