[Food police] Viva Italia?

By Connie van Uffelen & Marjolein van der Veldt

After the wonder in Turin where Juventus won a place in the last eight in the Champions League thanks to CR7, we just had to try an Italian meal. And where else than in Pulse where a new local hero has set up shop, Sapori Di Casa.

Restaurant: Sapori Di Casa
Day: Wednesday, 13 March 2019
Time: 12:20
Meal:  Roast chicken with potatoes and vegetables (EUR 7.50) & vegetarian pasta (EUR 6.75).

Temperature
Roast chicken (3)
Was this revenge because we went for chicken during the ‘Meat-free week’? The thermometer struggles to reach 48 degrees – far from adequate. A couple of hours later, and our stomachs and intestines were cramping.
Pasta (5)
The pasta, at 53 degrees, was a little warmer, but not really steaming hot. The cheese had not even completely melted. Paltry.

Texture
Roast chicken (5)
Do you remember the slime that children used to love playing with? Well this is what the chicken felt like – slimy strands with a rubbery inside. And while the menu said that it was a ‘roast chicken’, we did not believe that the chicken had even seen the inside of an oven.
Pasta (6)
Well, the pasta was cooked through but we had to look for the vegetables. Oh wait, there’s a bit of aubergine in the tomato sauce. True, it is indeed vegetarian, but that’s all it is. We had expected more.

Roasted chicken? With a temperature of 48 degrees this seems highly unlikely. 

Taste 
Roast chicken (5)
A sprig of thyme may make the chicken look pretty, but that’s the only flavouring there is. The vegetables suffer too. They would have been a happier with a little less salt.
Pasta (5)
The pasta sauce is pretty edible, don’t get me wrong. But it is a bit basic – tomato sauce with some cubes of aubergine. We had at the very least expected some fresh Italian herbs. And why Gouda cheese instead of finely grated Parmesan? The average student’s pasta tastes better.

Quantity/proportion
Roast chicken (6)
What looks like a full plate at first glance soon turns out otherwise. We count six small segments of potato, three drumsticks, a lettuce leaf or two and a spoonful of vegetables. Two hours later and our tummies are rumbling again.
Pasta (5)
We are still a little hungry when we leave. We have definitely not reached even two of our daily intake of three vegetables. Pity.

Price/quality
Roast chicken (4)
Given the quantity and quality, this meal is overpriced. Especially if we see our table companions tuck into full plates from the other newcomer, Brothers in the Hood.
Pasta (4)
The lack of vegetables and fresh herbs, the fact that it was not filling and that the temperature was too low meant that it was poor value for EUR 6.75.

The vegetarian meal consists of pasta without meat and veggies…

Presentation
Roast chicken (6)
Luckily we have never seen a prison from the inside. But we do watch Orange is the New Black. And this is exactly what this meal reminds us of: four components separated in different boxes. And no crossing the lines!
Pasta (6)
Tsk tsk. It could have used a pretty basil leaf. And definitely a spoon instead of a knife. Would have been useful for the sauce.

Experience
Roast chicken (5,5)
Things don’t go that well. The cash receipt roll is finished and the cashier inadvertently gives us a free meal. Of course we pay in full, but we are still waiting for the receipt …
Pasta (5)  
If Sapori Di Casa was our parents’ casa, we would hardly go home to eat. We can’t make it any better than it is.
 

Overall rating
Roast chicken (5-)
Pasta (5)

We have never done this before, but because this local hero only opened a few days ago, we will come back another time to give it another try. Maybe on 10 April when Ajax play Juventus in the quarter finals.