Restaurant Review: Gran Gusto

What to do when you've just returned from a semester in Florence and are itching to go right back?

Go to one of the best Italian restaurants nearby.

Enter: Gran Gusto.

Located in Cambridge, Mass., Gran Gusto is owned and run by native Napolitani. Chef Giuseppe Castellano was generous enough to bring a taste of his home country to my home state, and boy am I grateful. Everything is homemade - from the focaccia slices brought in classy metal conical baskets, to the pasta and pizza, to the classic Italian dessert offerings. Oh, I was home!

After reading the menu and listening to our waiter (who spoke to me in Italian - I wanted to hug him!) list the specials with a certain flair that can only be described as veramente italiano, my parents each started out with a salad - and I stole plenty from each of their plates.

This is baby spinach, fresh asparages, roasted red peppers and a slice of what I am mostly sure was an aged pecorino (but might have been a good parmegiano reggiano...my tastebuds' memory is failing me). It was all dressed up in a light oil-and-vinegar dressing and drizzled with a touch of balsamic. It was just lovely. The freshness and different flavors of the veggies, the sharp pungent taste of the cheese, and the sweetness of the balsamic was Italian simplicity at its finest. 

I should also mention the wine - my parents ordered a really nice red from Montalcino and gave me sips. YUM! Oh, I miss a glass of wine with dinner. It really makes the whole thing more satisfying.

For our entree, my parents and I ordered the same thing - boring, yes, but it sounded SO good!

Fresh fettuccine with morel mushrooms (some of the best funghi in the world), spinach, and baby squid called calamarelle. I heard squid and I was there! None of us were sorry, either. The pasta was perfectly al dente. The sweetness of the squid melded beautifully with the earthy mushrooms flavor, and I was just so happy. There's just something about a wonderful plate of fresh pasta that gets me grinning every time.

No picture, but my brother ordered a pizza with ham, mushrooms, olives, artichokes, and the mandatory fresh tomato sauce and bufalo mozzarella. Though I'm quite sure no slice will ever top the pies we made in cooking class, this was as authentic as it gets. My dad said it really took him back to his childhood, when he could wander down to a pizza place that used the fresh tomato sauce and mozz. The boys at the table were quite satisfied :)

When dessert time rolled around, the words of my beloved cooking professor resonated in my head: "The true way to judge a restaurant is by its dessert list. The way the chef chooses to finish the meal is very important."

Couldn't agree more.

My brother went with the tiramisu - one of our mutual favorite desserts. The thing I love about tiramisu is that it's always a little different every time I taste it. This was no exception. Though I still prefer our rendition, this was good with a thicker than usual layer of cocoa, giving it a really nice deep cocoa-y flavor. 

My parents, hankering for something lighter and fruity, went with the delizia limone:

A wonderfully light lemon sponge cake with a chilled lemon cream in the middle and a couple big fat slices of strawberries hiding!

I ended up helping them out a lot with this - I love that it was chilled! It turned the tart lemon, sweet cream and airy cake into a light lemony cloud of dessert perfection. And the strawberry slices in the middle were like finding buried treasure!

If you live anywhere in the vicinity of Cambridge and have a hankering for bell' Italia, or even just want to brush up on your Italian language skills, take a trip to Gran Gusto. It certainly helped this homesick Florence-sick chick!

~Namaste~