Presti's Cafe and Deli - Littly Italy

Presti's is one of those places we go to every time we are in Little Italy.  It doesn't matter how full we are or how late at night it is, we always get a dessert and an espresso.  This time we were with 4 other people so there were lots of desserts.  I was waiting at the counter for all the goodies and everyone else started eating so sorry for the half eaten pics!  We also got some thumb print cookies but the picture didn't turn out.  This first one had cream and strawberries, I don't remember what it was called.  Everyone liked everything!

I love their tiramisu, TBG thinks its the best around.

Half eaten cream puff

Espresso with hazelnut syrup

Cappuccino

Presti's also has food, but we have never gotten it.  The service can be a little slow if they are busy.  The counters get crowded and it's hard to tell who needs help.  Sometimes they have gelato which is pretty good.  We usually get that when they have it.  I like the atmosphere, the front is all windows so you can sit and watch the streets of Little Italy while you sip your espresso.  The prices are pretty average for a bakery.  They have a large stock of Italian desserts, breads and coffees. 



Service____ 8 Chipps

Food____9 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____0 Chipps

Wine List____0 Chipps

Value____7 Chipps

Valerio's - Little Italy

Calamari and stuffed pepper app

TBG and I love Little Italy.  We went to Valerio's with my family and had a great time.  We started with a bottle of wine.  Then we ordered the stuffed pepper and calamari appetizers.  Both were spicy and good.  The calamari was cooked perfectly.  The calamari was tender and both tasted fresh and handmade.  The sausage tasted high quality.  The spicy red sauce was great with the bread.  Some people at the table got the house salad.  It was mixed greens and a nice red tomato with a balsamic dressing.  Very tasty and also fresh.  Next the meals came out.  The first one was a spaghetti ai frutti di mare, which had scallops, clams, shrimp and mussels with a white wine garlic sauce.  The next entree was a lobster tortolloni, it had large pieces of lobster on top.  This was our least favorite dish.  It did not taste like it was made there.  The next entree was the osso bucco.  It was a large veal shank with roasted red pepper risotto.  This dish was our favorite dish of the night.  The veal was tender and tasty, the risotto properly cooked and seasoned.  Of course TBG liked the bone marrow and even got my brother to enjoy it as well.  The last dish was a portobello ravioli.  It was good, the cream sauce was a little rich but most people seemed to like it.  The portions were huge.  We even brought some food home.  Throughout the night we also consumed 2 bottle of red wine.  The selection seemed good but I was unfamiliar with some of the types of Italian wine.  They had equal amounts of red and white and most were around $40/bottle.  The server was awesome.  He is from Sorrento and was helpful, knowledgeable, and did not hurry us.  The atmosphere was modern Italian.  It was very clean and very cozy with large pictures of Italy on all the walls and columns.  The bar is small, but most people come to mangia anyway.  The prices were more on the expensive side, but the food quality was good, and portions were large.  

Service____ 9 Chipps

Food____9 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____3 Chipps

Wine List____8 Chipps

Value____8 Chipps