Olazzo - Silver Spring

You know those days when you need a drink and nourishment, and even though you have the supplies at home, you just want to be served by someone else? I was having one of those, and thankfully, so was JC. I'd never been to Olazzo, either in Bethesda or Silver Spring, so we thought we'd give it a try.

The ambience inside Olazzo is cozy and warm - a TV screen at the end of the bar showcases a digital fireplace, the room is dim, yet there is a warm glow that lights up the place, and the booths are big and welcoming. We settled into one of the cushy booths and ordered a bottle of riesling. I feel like I get a lot of requests for a fruity riesling at work, which we don't carry - for those you who are searching for a fruity and sweet riesling, Olazzo's got it. We sipped away for a while, having girl talk and giggling a lot, as we do often.

We started with the fried calamari, which is a pretty impressive portion. For $9, we got a giant platter of lightly battered and deep fried, hot and crispy calamari with marinara. It was delicious, not overdone, and did I mention, it's HUGE?

Unfortunately, the rest of the meal wasn't that great or memorable. JC ordered the mozzarella neopolitan, which wasn't particularly remarkable, and I made the mistake of ordering what turned out to be a country fried steak of some sort. It had some charming Italian name that lured me to it and I was feeling like some red meat. Without frills, it was pretty gross. It was dry, there was way too much breading that was too salty, and I couldn't eat more than 1/3 of it. Ew ew ew ew ew. Perhaps that's why it's not on the menu anymore. Good riddance, I say.

I like Olazzo. I will go back and perhaps this time, I'll get a pasta...that should be safe in an Italian restaurant, don't you think? Tasty tasty!!