Formaggio Wine Bar
This is one of my new favorite places to eat. It is located in Market City Shopping Center by Ben Franklin and is a small hole in the wall treasure.
This Restaurant is quaintly decorated with bar tables (those high round tables), wine decor and rustic orange stucco walls reminiscent of Italy. The low lighting and live music (last night was a local guitarist/singer playing Hawaiian and 80's 90's soft music) makes this a perfect place to come, eat, chat, and unwind from the day. The noise level can get a little loud since the place is small and (comfortably) busy, but its not unbearable.
Because this is a wine bar, they specialize in their array of wines and liquors. The first glass I ordered was a Pinot Gris that wasn't dry , yet still crisp and had tastes of pear and apple. The second glass I ordered with dessert was a German Reisling and it was good, and sweet.
The food here is incredible for the price. It took a while for it to come out of the small kitchen, but the quality was unexpected and for no more than 12 dollars for an entree was great. They are smaller portioned, which is good, you can have an entree and still have room for a dessert. We started out with crab cakes, there were only two but the sauce and cakes were good and they were complemented by a small arugula and baby greens salad with a tomato relish dressing. All three entrees were wonderful! I ordered from their panini menu a grilled vegtable panini with eggplant, red and yellow peppers, zucchini, onions, some sort of special mayonnaise like sauce, and Havarti cheese. It was cut into 4 strips (I couldn't finish it all) and came next to a small baby greens salad in a vinegarette. My fiance had what is now my favorite (well they are all my faves) a Kobe Beef panini....all I can say is excellent. My father had a very tasty, creamy lobster bisque..not too soupy, yet not too rich. To finish off...we shared an order of tiramisu...light and refreshing, and an order of bananas foster (without the presentation) in which the icecream was a little hard but the taste of the sauce and warm bananas made up for it!
I highly recommend this place for dinner, dessert, or even just wine, but I know I will definitely be back many times!
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I did go back, a few times since then, most recently for Valentines when I was too sick for the $100 a plate price fixe dinner with wine pairings at 21 Degrees North (Turtle Bay Resort, and I am still kicking myself for that). Here are my thoughts on the food that night...
