Me on Sabatiello's, in Newsprint: Is It OK?

I feel bad saying bad things about nice people, so I hope the owner of Sabatiello's is not pissed that I said- to an Advocate reporter- that I thought the food at Sabatiello's was "OK."
It's such a neat little spot and it's just a mystery why it's not more productive," Redlien (that's me!) said. "You can look out and see everyone that's going by." One explanation may be the food. In comparison to other Italian restaurants in the city, the few dinners Redlien had at Sabatiello's were "OK," she said. (See full article.)

OK is OK, right? Like, it's not great, and it's not bad? I did not say the food was good, but that's because I am an FC-trained food snob. Not a real food snob, but a food snob who can either pay 20 bucks for great Italian food (small size pasta at Napa, or a delicious pasta entree at Siena) or pay $10-15 for OK food that most people would never complain about. That's how I classify Sabatiello's based on the few times I ate there. It's normal Italian food. But that's the prob. There is so much of it already in Stamford that Sabatiello's has not made a splash.

With Capriccio just a few doors down, you have already have quality Italian food on Bedford, plus the best outdoor scene in Stamford. My husband loves Capriccio, so that's where we get our fill of Italian food at a good price. He likes lighter Italian. I actually like Siena a lot, on the other end of Spring, even though it's a bit pricey to eat there regularly. By pricey, I mean meat entrees are over 20 bucks. Siena is a pretty, romantic resto with very good food. We rarely go there because my husband likes nothing on the menu, but sometimes I can play the sympathy card and we'll get to go there.

But back to Sabatiello's. I can't wait to see the show... and maybe we can all agree to go there in the next week and share our reviews! My husband has been scared to eat at a place that has been on Kitchen Nightmares (I forced him to the reality show taping under slight duress), but maybe the show will portray a place that is clean, with good quality cooks, but that is just struggling because of slow business.

There. I think I feel better now, and that what I said was alright. OK? OK.