STEPH DEROSA: INSALATA DI MARE >>>
Crouton Rating: Three out of four
Before I showed my “Texan mom†attributes and drowned my entire family in a bathtub due to mass snowbound insanity, Mr. DeRosa thought it might be a wise idea to get me out of the house for dinner last night. It took us 35 minutes at 30 mph warp speed to finally settle in front of Proctor District’s Europa Bistro for some tasty Italian fare. He went for the pasta, and I craved a salad. A light, fresh, seafood and spinach salad to be exact.
Description: Atop a bed of fresh baby spinach lays a plethora of perfectly poached seafood. Calamari, salmon, shrimp, clams, muscles, and halibut are evenly tossed amongst a light lemon and olive oil dressing while ever-so-slightly wilting its baby spinach partner. Insalata di mare’s lemon dressing enhances the salad’s seafood by bringing out the fish characteristics, not drowning out the freshness.
Taste: The chef lets the food’s flavors speak for themselves. He forgoes the heavy hand on seasonings and salts, creams and dressings, and my most dreaded salad filler: croutons. I loathe croutons. What a waste of space. Who wants huge chunks of stale bread on something that could be flavored in other, more natural ways? Like bacon!
Conclusion: This salad is pure, natural, and unadulterated. Meaning it’s not too rich and filling. I can still enjoy a few glasses of wine, their VERY addicting bread dipping oil, eat this hearty protein-enriched salad, and not leave feeling like I’m about to give birth to a food baby. If I’m feeling lucky I might throw in a few bites of Europa Bistro’s antipasti. Yum.
Dressing on the side
I love bacon. Bacon makes everything better. But think about it â€" bacon is from the belly of a pig. When you begin to overanalyze your favorite foods, it can really gross you out. As another example, think about eggs. You are eating either an unborn chicken fetus, or a chicken’s unfertilized period. Gross. What about milk? It is a white liquid that comes from the teat of a cow. Would you go suck a cow’s teat? Well then why do you think it’s better just because it’s poured from a cardboard carton? Fact: humans are the only mammals who drink milk after their first year of life, and from another mammal. Why? Why do people drink milk? Sickening. I gag at the mere thought of drinking milk, and I’ve never drunk a glass of milk in my life. Have I ever broken a bone? NOPE.
[Europa Bistro, 2515 N. Proctor St., Tacoma, 253.761.5660]