The Factory Kitchen

I think I'm ready to admit to myself that I like Italian more than French food.  Growing up, I had more French influences in my life than Italian.  Baguette and pate were common things in my household.  Escargot and poulet roti were foods that I ate without a second thought.  To love French food is to be refined and sophisticated.  But when it comes down to it, French food is boring.  I need some zing in my life and Italian food really brings it.

Pomodori heirloom tomatoes, red onion, radish, shallot vinaigrette, basil
Me and tomatoes are best friends.  Or maybe it's actually a one sided relationship because tomatoes don't have feelings and could not possibly love me back.  Either way, I love me a good heirloom tomato.  Considering it's not actually tomato season, these guys were juicy and sweet.  I really loved the vinaigrette which had a tomato sauce quality to it.  It was just more tomatoes on top of tomatoes.

Prosciutto parma prosciutto aged 24 months, lightly fried sage dough, stracciatella

This had some much promise.  You can't go wrong with fried dough and prosciutto.  Everything was really nice except that fried dough part.  It had a strange slightly sweet donut quality to it that was distracting.  I'm sure that's how it's supposed to taste but I guess I wasn't expecting it.

Brodetto steamed little neck, clams, mussels, garlic, organic garbanzo beans, clam water
Hard to go wrong here.

Mandilli di Seta handkerchief pasta, lingurian almond basil pesto

This is apparently their "signature dish."  They even brought it out separate from and ahead of the other pastas.  It was unique in that I've never had such large sheets of pasta.  I imagine it takes great skill and practice to make sheets of pasta that large, yet sturdy enough to maintain their texture, shape, and hold up to a sauce, all the while being silky soft.  I think this was overhyped though.  The sauce wasn't all that special.  I would still recommend you order this though.  It's good.

Casonzei veal, pork, sausage filled pasta, cured pork, butter, sage

Why do brown butter and sage always go together?  I think I should probably avoid brown butter sauces since they have a rich nuttiness that usually gets overshadowed by the oily heaviness.  The filling was a tad dry.

Corxetti Stampati hand stamped marjoram egg-pasta, braised veal, san marzano

I'm not sure why this was considered an egg pasta.  Aren't all pastas made with egg?  The sauce was pretty standard.  The pasta was a bit too al dente.

Porchetta rolled pork belly, aromatic herbs, red onion, carrots, fennel, celery

We always try for entrees beyond pastas at Italian restaurants yet always find ourselves disappointed. Triple T wasn't having any of this being riddled with fat every which way.  I found the seasoning nice and herbaceous but parts of it were overcooked.  The skin definitely lacked the right crispiness.

Crostata chocolate filling, feuillitine crunch, raspberries

We were all a bit surprised the crostata look like this.  It was actually delectably chocolatey and I liked that feuillitine crunch.

Pannacotta vanilla cream custard, lemon cornmeal cookie, dark berries

Smooth Obturator moaned that this panna cotta had not set appropriately.  I sorta prefer my custards runny rather than stiff.  After a few bites it did strike me as too soft.  The flavors were good, not too sweet.

The Factory Kitchen gets compared to Bestia, as both specialize in pasta and are roughly located in the same area.  While I've never been to Bestia myself, the resounding conclusion is that Bestia is far superior.  It's probably an unfair comparison since Bestia might be aiming for a more refined culinary experience.  We all agreed The Factory Kitchen was good, but nothing mind blowing.  Smooth Obturator and Triple F were blown away by Bestia.  I will be heading to Bestia soon so will be able to attest to the difference myself.  But The Factory Kitchen, in and of itself, is a good eat but not worth a long drive.  Gusto gets a much stronger recommendation from me as far as Italian and pastas go.