REVIEW: Il Mulino (located at the Swan)
SUMMARY: Still great Italian
After a thorough rehashing of the immense enjoyment of our 2007 meal here, we decided to pay Il Mulino another visit. Knowing how much we liked our first meal here, we were fearful of a ‘sophomore jinx’.
We had originally booked a 6:00 ADR, but decided to try to slide in early, so I would have time to run the camera back up to the room before we headed out for the night, after dinner. So, we arrived at the podium at 5:45 p.m. We passed through a fairly full bar area to get to the podium, and were seated immediately. No pager, no ‘stand over there’, just straight to the table even though we were early. Excellent. (I should point out that the bar area was so full, they had servers waiting on the tables there. The young lady we saw was not dressed like the servers in the main dining areas. She was wearing a shiny black outfit, what I would call a sleeveless skirt, and what appeared to be very tall black go-go boots. The outfit was fetching, but reminded me very much of an Austin Powers movie.)
For this review, I’m going to deviate from my usual mode of naming the waitstaff (when I can remember them), but I will explain why. Our waiters, for this review Waiter One and Waiter Two, were fine. Not terribly engaging, but neither was the service overly flawed. But, there was a patron with an issue, seated near our area, thus in their section, who had asked to see the manager abut something not once, but twice. The ‘complaining patron’ reminded me of the old guy who kicks the bucket in the bathroom on Clerks. Appearance and expressions were similar, but throw in more Jackie Mason-like gyrations. I didn’t get close enough to hear what the complaint was, or if it was legitimate (which would only have been just IMHO anyway), but it appeared to center on his table’s food, based on his holding up his fork full of something and pointing to it, when speaking with the manager. What I do know is that what little conversations we had with Waiter One immediately ceased after the first manager visit to that table. After the second manager visit to that table, we didn’t feel we were even on Waiter One’s radar. Waiter Two stayed consistent throughout the night, but was younger, and seemed to be the ‘second’, supporting the lead role of Waiter One. So, for that long winded explanation, I will pass on naming the servers in this review. I know that a complaining patron, legitimate or not, can drain one’s enthusiasm for their job. While it did impact the service we received, I think I should let this one pass.
After being seated by the hostess in an almost empty restaurant (which seemed strange because the bar area was hopping), we began our examination of the menu. We had already discussed (after our previous visit) a starter of the Insaccati Misti – “A Platter of Italian Delights”, for two. We then saw the calamari in the appetizer section, and decided to be a bit risqué this visit. (Note: Robert P. has acquired a new found weakness for calamari and cheese plates…..) Waiter One brought out the small complimentary sampling of sliced meat and roasted eggplant, garlic, and parsley puree, and again this visit – the roasted eggplant spread was excellent, and a perfect start to our Italian meal.
A pretty respectable bread basket arrived a minute or two later.
We then went ahead and ordered the sampling platter and the calamari for starters, and said that we would decide on the next course after we saw how hungry we were. This seemed to throw off our server, who wanted us to keep his very large menu on our very small table, for deciding what to order later. We ended up compromising, and placing the menu on the floor, propped up against the side of my chair. Also during this exchange, one cocktail was ordered, a vodka tonic that came out strong and cold, as a good vodka tonic should be.
The platter and calamari arrived together, roughly 10 minutes later, completely overwhelming our small table. (RANT ON - I realize we were only a party of two, but it was early, and the place was at less than 10% of capacity when we were seated. Ultimately, it was our fault for not asking for a larger table, but still, I wish the host staff wouldn’t always just default a party of two to the smallest tables in the place. - RANT OFF)
The platter, Insaccati Misti, was “a platter of Italian delights: Prosciutto, Soprassata, Cacciatorini, Parmigiano Reggiano, Roasted Red Peppers, Cherry Vinegar Peppers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Buffalo Mozzarella, for two”. The Parmigiano Reggiano was 2 nice sized chunks, which is about half of the regular appetizer. The Roasted Red Peppers were nice, with good flavor and texture. Of the meats, the Prosciutoo stood out as the best of the bunch, and was shaved paper thin, but not dried out. The mozz/tomato combo came with a bonus, a few slices of a nice beefsteak fresh tomato thrown in, which worked well with the flavors of the sun dried tomatoes. The biggest surprise came with the Cherry Vinegar Peppers. These appeared to be regular cherry bomb peppers, which I have cooked and handled many times back home. Waiter Two warned me that these were hot, but would Robert P listen, nooooo…… and these things knocked my taste buds off. Hot and spicy peppers, flavorful vinegar, just a great flavor experience, with the heat equivalent (IMHO) of fresh Serrano peppers. Painful at first, but too delicious to stop eating. To quote Moe the bartender “It’s like theres a party in my mouth, and everyone’s invited”.
The calamari was excellent. Lightly breaded in a tasty seasoning flour, quick fried, with a kick butt marinara sauce along side. Our second best calamari experience at WDW, trailing only the calamari at the Flying Fish. “That’s all I have to say about that”.
For a side by side comparison....
For entrée discussions, we considered sharing the Pollo Fra Diavolao that I had ordered last year, but the spicy red sauce would have been much too intense for my wife. Being well fed after the two starters, we went light, and ordered the pizza margherita to share as an entrée. We were also saving room for dessert, hoping to try the incredible tiramisu we had previously. Waiter One didn’t seem happy after we ordered just the pizza, but that may have been due to the impact of the complaining patron. Anywho, the pizza margherita (basil, cheese, and tomato) came out probably 15 minutes later. I would estimate this to be a 10 or maybe even 11 inch pizza, with a great thin crust, and simple but delicious flavors.
One of the better pizzas we have had at WDW, but not sure if it was $16 good. Reminded me of the pizza at Wolfgang Puck Express, but this was much much better. And, it was perfect in size, so that we didn’t stuff ourselves right out of dessert. After wiping out the pizza, we decided to not make total pigs of ourselves, and again split an order of tiramisu.
Though the picture doesn’t do it justice, this was the same light and fluffy creation we had last time, came with a touch of both marscapone cream and zabaglione, and was accompanied by a few different kinds of fresh berries. It was every bit as good as last time, and capped the meal off nicely. Probably the perfect dessert.
I should note that last visit, after dessert, they brought us two chilled shots of Lemoncillo from the giant center display Tilt-A-Jug. These were complimentary, and a nice finish to the meal. This time, no offer or even mention was made. We had a considerable wait for our check (over 10 minutes) after we were done eating, and we didn’t have coffee to dawdle over during that time, so I don’t know if we would have waited any longer, even if it was free. I guess that part of the meal will remain a mystery, until next time…..
Check:
Total tab for the two of us was $80, pre tip. Not bad, but not great either, considering we laid off the wine and heavy entrees for the evening. I would call it a fair price for a very good meal. There are no discounts currently being accepted at the Swan/Dolphin, which is a shame, because I think it would help to drum up interest for some of these out of the way restaurants.
Summary:
Above average meal, fairly priced. Service could have been better, but I believe that other factors impacted that aspect, so we won’t dwell on it (but nor can we praise it like last time). Il Mulino remains on the list of favorites for our next trip.
NEXT UP: Bistro de Paris
